


The Meaning of Life

by Evitcani



Series: Living and Dying Beneath the Veil [13]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angus is a Detective/Novelist and Taako is Proud of his Magic Son, Deals with Depression and Suicidal Tendencies in a Healthy Way, Destiny is Different from Fate, Grief is a Major Theme, Grieving, M/M, Mystery, Post-Canon, Taako Owns a Bakery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2017-04-09
Packaged: 2018-10-11 10:32:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 21
Words: 43,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10462899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evitcani/pseuds/Evitcani
Summary: After the death of Magnus, both Taako and Kravitz try to pick up the pieces of their lives.There is nothing in life or death that does not have a way forward.Alternatively titled: "Solvin' the Mystery of Death's Death with Sad Taako with Guest Appearances by Son Angus"





	1. Everything Dies

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shippeh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shippeh/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really bad at summaries. Sorry for everyone if you read that summary and had no idea what was happening.
> 
> Pretty Teen rating until chapter 11 where it starts to turn a bit more explicit. Marking this up as a preemptive measure.

A funeral was the most jarring way to remember that everything dies. Kravitz, being so close to death, did not often take death so seriously. He wasn't the kind of person to normally attend an event honoring someone's life. It seemed sort of improper for him to be there, but Kravtiz wasn't there for Magnus Burnsides laying inside the closed casket. No, Kravtiz was there to put his hand on the small of Taako's back as the elf approached the casket and laid a crude carving of a bear on top. 

Taako turned into Kravitz's shoulder as the casket was lowered. The bounty hunter had little concept of time. He didn't remember the last time he'd seen Magnus, but he thought he remembered the peppering of grey hairs. Though, everyone had said Magnus had been too messy for an open casket. The dragon hadn't left much to bury, so they had substituted the dragon's dick after Merle had taken revenge. 

Kravitz put both his arms around Taako and gave him a light squeeze. It coaxed a small sob from the elf. Taako called Kravtiz often, just to talk. They'd talk while Kravtiz worked, Taako's sing-song voice like background noise to Kravtiz's routine. He'd been unnerved when the stone had gone quiet for a few days, Kravitz feeling each hour dragging on. When it'd finally rattled to life, it was Taako just murmuring his name and sounding like something had broken.

He'd torn through reality in a flash. Taako had laughed and tugged at his cloak, saying, "It's a good thing you're always dressed like this, bucko." Kravitz had never seen Taako in black. 

They were the last to walk away from the newly dug grave. Taako stumbled as the started to head down the hill back to the path. Kravitz caught him as he covered his face, helping him sink to the ground more gently. The bounty hunter just knelt next to him. It was unnerving to see him in a normal outfit, but Kravitz tried not to think about that at that exact moment. "We just buried three teeth and a dragon's cock instead of my best friend." A laugh bubbled to Taako's lips and it sounded awful, like the noise had wrenched something important from him. 

Kravtiz hesitated, unsure of what to say. "Apparently," Kravitz paused to lick his lips, "it's what he would have wanted?" Taako laughed, more genuinely and pressed his face to Kravitz's chest, throwing his arms around the bounty hunter's neck. Kravitz had long ago realized that Taako felt like he needed to maintain the facade of cool, maybe as some artifact of being a TV personality. There was no surprise for the bounty hunter that Taako would hide his face as he lost the ability to look whatever part the elf tried to play. He wished his hands were warmer as he rubbed them in soothing circles on the other man's back. "It'll be okay," he murmured. It was nonsense. He had no idea what 'it' even was in this context. "He's at peace, now. He gets to rest." Kravitz continued the stream of half-whispered babbling. He'd seen it plenty of times in the wake of his work and it seemed to do the trick for grieving widows or children. Taako was neither of these, but Kravitz had little else in his arsenal of comfort. 

He was practically personified death, not some beacon of mourning hope. 

Eventually, Kravitz convinced Taako back to his feet and managed to get him into a taxi carriage. Kravitz directed it to Taako's little townhouse on main street. The elf still didn't completely trust himself to cook, but it turned out he was pretty good at directing others on what to cook. The bakery kept Taako well-funded and occupied since the Bureau of Balance had been disbanded. Merle had decided to settle down near his kids. Magnus had gone on adventuring, but Taako's final reward was to feed the void fish the last episode of his show. 

The elf lived on the second story of the shop so he could slip downstairs to make new recipes in the middle of the night. He'd call Kravitz as he worked, alternating between teaching the other man about cooking and making the bounty hunter have to turn down the stone as Taako detailed every dirty thought he wanted to act on the next time they could see each other. Kravitz would visit when these calls became explicitly a stream of scandalous and, often, physically impossible feats. It was less about making a booty call and more giving him incentive to force a day off. Actually, these had never ventured into any of the territory Taako covered in his late-night calls. They usually just spent the day lapping up the novelty of being able to see each others faces. They strolled parks holding hands, snuggled while watching a sunset, and just enjoyed being near each other without having to speak to maintain their connection.

Kravitz also had the feeling Taako wanted to show him off. 

After paying the taxi, he helped Taako up the stairs and opened the door for him. This was where Kravitz entered mostly unfamiliar territory, not having spent much time in Taako's apartment. Taako seemed to sense this and went to the couch while Kravitz hovered in the doorway uncertainly. Taako let his head fall onto the back of the couch. "You can come in, bub-ly" he stated plainly. 

The bounty hunter took off his cloak, setting it on the hook in the entrance-way and closing the door behind himself. He settled onto the couch next to Taako. They sat in silence for a while. Taako stared at the ceiling, unmoving, and Kravitz was acutely awkward. He decided to carefully place a hand on Taako's knee in a gesture of comfort. It was more for Kravitz, a selfish movement to steady himself. Taako tilted his head to the side to look at Kravitz. The bounty hunter poorly read what Taako was thinking most of the time, but felt more aware of it as he watched a number of expressions float across the elf's face.

Taako rolled on top of Kravitz, straddling his lap. He buried his hands in Kravitz's curls and kissed him, hard. Their teeth clacked together, splitting Taako's bottom lip on the bounty hunter's sharp teeth. Kravitz put his arms around Taako much more gently, trying to slow the kiss into something more tender. He could taste the sharp tang of the other man's blood in his mouth. Taako seemed to become frustrated by the slow pace, pulling back, panting. Kravitz didn't need to breath, so he wasn't similarly breathless, but he did feel himself becoming more alert. "Bite me," Taako hissed. He grabbed Kravitz's hand and put it around his own neck. He stared down at Kravitz with an oddly intense look in his eyes. It wasn't lust, but something closer to the expression people wore when they saw death as the only option left. "Hurt me."

Kravitz pulled his hand back, as if burned. "No, I wouldn't touch you," he sounded alarmed, even to his own ears. Hurt clouded Taako's eyes and flush rose to his cheeks. He got up, quickly, and was half-way to his bedroom door before Kravitz could say anything else. "Taako," he protested, "I didn't mean it like that." He had a feeling Taako knew he didn't mean that, but Taako wanted to be hurt. The door slammed behind the elf. Kravitz stared at the pink shag carpet, feeling helpless. He stood and left, thinking maybe it was better if he wasn't around. There seemed to be more harm in his efforts at comfort than help.

What was a specter of death doing to try to help someone mourn the loss of life? Kravitz had no answer to this question. 

It only took a few hours for Taako to call. "I'm sorry," the stone slurred. He sounded drunk. "I'm sorry. I wasn't going to call, but I couldn't go without telling you sorry. But I guess you'd come anyway."

The chill hit Kravitz deep in his bones. "It's okay, love, it's okay. Where are you going? You should go to sleep," he soothed. "You're drunk, just go to bed." 

The stone went quiet for a while. Kravitz stood, readying his scythe to go to Taako's side, but he hesitated. "I guess I'm going to be with you, huh? Magnus. Magnus will be there, too, right?" 

Kravitz was by Taako's side faster than he knew reality was capable of tearing. The elf stared up from the porcelain tub with shock. Bottles of alcohol were scattered across the tiles. He was holding the stone in one hand and a dagger in the other. What poison wasn't dripping from the dagger was splashed across the floor by Kravitz's feet. 

He didn't think. The water gave a great splash as Kravitz lunged, ripping the dagger from Taako's hand, throwing it aside. It stuck in the door. "What did you think you were doing?!" He hadn't meant for his voice to sound so loud, but he'd practically roared it at Taako. 

The elf just dropped the stone and tried to wrench himself away from Kravitz, covering his face with one hand. Sobs bubbled between his fingers. "I don't know." He hiccuped. "I don't know. I don't know what to do. I can't--" He struggled, splashing more water, but both of them were soaked. "Why are you here?" Taako still wasn't looking at Kravitz. Kravitz felt the lump in his throat steal his ability to speak.

He slipped out of the tub and grabbed Taako. The other man tried to struggle out of his grip, but Kravitz kept his hold, slamming the bathroom door open hard enough to pull the top hinge free. He went to Taako's bedroom, stepping over broken glass bottles, and throwing the elf onto the bed. "Stay," he hissed. Taako nodded, now using both hands to cover his face. His whole body was shuddering with each sob. 

Kravitz went back out, shutting the door behind himself. It took him an hour to clean the whole apartment. He took everything sharp, poisonous, or alcoholic back through the inter-dimensional rift to Kravitz's office. He'd check on Taako occasionally. The elf cried for a while, but eventually fell asleep. He ended up needing to use a spare storage room, considering the amount of stuff Taako arbitrarily stole just because he could. When Kravitz had completed the task, he sank to the ground next to the bed and let the chill from earlier fully consume him. Ice spiraled across the carpet from his position. 

He couldn't let Taako go to the one place he could not follow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry to everyone. I've read a lot of fics about post-canon and they all just left me fuming. So here's my own hand at one. :D This will update arbitrarily depending on the degree in which I'm trying to impress a certain someone who knows exactly who they are. Probably every few days.


	2. Death Cannot Die

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How does a dead person convince someone to live when they won't even talk about dying?

Death did not dream. Instead, he sank into deep thoughts of dying. This was, for all intents and purposes, basically a dream; regardless of whatever pretensions prevented the reaper from admitting to occasionally taking a short nap. Kravitz was, more or less, an undead being of the Astral Plane. The Astral Plane was not a great place to live, because it was not supposed to be lived in. 

It was a place of transition. 

Only the newly dead passed through the great gates that the plane acted as. It was the domain of the Raven Queen because souls could either move on to the afterlife or back to the material plane. Contrary to what some people thought, Kravitz did not hunt all souls who left the astral plane. Some souls were, frankly, not meant to be there. They came too early and had a fate yet to fulfill. Those who escaped by unnatural means were Kravitz's prey.

There was no brag in saying Kravitz was ruthless. If not for a minor rebellion, he would have dragged all three back to the Eternal Stockade. However, it seemed fortune had long favored the trio and the hunter had gotten a bit side-tracked. A few things could make Kravitz admit he felt like the luckiest of everyone involved in the entire fiasco. 

Those few things mostly consisted of the freckled face suddenly far too close to his own. "Hey dude, you're pretty cute when you sleep but my staff sorta needs to cut stuff. I'm too pretty to be Angus, but I'm also _pretty_ sure you're the reason there's literally about zilch knives in mi casa." Taako didn't sound accusing. "I didn't even know you could sleep so it's almost cute enough for me to tell them it's a training exercise for the knife apocalypse." 

Kravitz tried to grab Taako to pull him into a hug, but found his arms a bit trapped under his cloak. It seemed Taako had settled it over him at some point. He flailed for a moment, then ungracefully managed to pull it off. Taako straightened and took a step back, laughing. "You want breakfast when you figure your shit out?" The elf started to walk back out of the bedroom and Kravitz scrambled to his feet to follow. 

He put a hand on Taako's shoulder. "Are you alright, love?" Kravitz wondered how long he'd been asleep. It was morning, but he didn't see a clock anywhere. 

Taako turned around and pecked him on the cheek. "I don't need the toothache, handsome. Where's my damn knives? Oh, and like half of my apartment?" 

The hunter frowned and squeezed Taako's shoulder. "I'm not trying to be sweet. I'm _worried_ about you," he tried to keep his tone even. 

The eye roll stung Kravitz in unexpected ways. Taako turned around, brushing off his hand. "Focus, my dude: Knives." He continued a path towards the kitchen where a pile of eggs was waiting around two plates. 

Kravitz shook the hurt off. This wasn't about him or how Taako treated Kravitz when he got a little too close to problems the elf would rather not talk about. "I'll go get them down to your staff now. Then, come back up for breakfast?" He gave Taako a nervous smile. To Kravitz's relief, Taako grinned back. 

"Play your cards right and you could get a little more than breakfast, handsome," the elf winked. Kravitz laughed softly at how cheesy it was, but that seemed intentional. "Maybe even lunch!" This made him laugh a little louder. He shook his head, smiling, and stepped outside the apartment. 

The traitorous thought that he had almost never had such a small moment crossed his mind. Kravitz's still heart clenched. Ice delicately swirled across the wall where he put his hand to steady himself. He pulled back and swept away the wrinkles on his jacket. "Nope, none of that," he murmured to himself.

He found Mara working on the things that didn't require chopping the great mass of fresh ingredients set aside in neat piles on one counter. This was where Kravitz paused, trying to figure out how to get on the topic. Mara had worked at the bakery since it had opened and now occupied the position of head chef. He'd gotten friendly with her during periods where Taako had needed to finish some sort of business before they spent the day together. 

The gnome was a kind woman who treated Taako much like her extended family. Kravitz had spent a few Candlenights crowded into the woman's burrow leading holiday songs at his boyfriend's urging. He knew the subject was delicate, but it was a violation of Taako's privacy that he felt was needed to keep the elf safe. 

"Are you gonna keep catching flies or use that mouth of yours to tell me why you stole all the knives?" She dusted flour onto her apron and leaned against the counter. Kravitz also thought she would have figured it out eventually if he didn't tell her. "I have a feeling it has to do with you, according to the boss, having slept upstairs. But not in the way that means I've got to have a serious talk about safety or sanitation." 

He scratched the side of his nose, deciding honesty was the best policy. "Taako had a rough night, Mara," he kept his voice soft. "If I bring the kitchen knives back from my office, will you take them home with you when you leave? Just for a while. Please. That way they're here when you need them and--"

Mara cut him off with a wave of her hand. Her expression had softened from alarm to sadness. "Say no more, Krav." They nodded at each other and Kravitz stepped aside to pull the knives from a rift to his office. She took the knives from him delicately, setting them on the counter. "If you can handle the rest, I can handle this small thing." She sighed, tapping the wooden block that held the knife set. She turned an eye on Kravitz. "Can you handle the rest?" 

The answer fell from his lips before he could stop it, "No." Kravitz covered his mouth. A zone of truth had fallen over the area. He hesitated as she patiently waited for him to say more. "I think he needs more help than I can give him, but I'll drag him kicking and screaming to get it," his fierce response surprised even himself. 

The thought of losing Taako had become a sudden and irrepressible fear. 

The gnome bobbed her head. "Right, I've got work." She dismissed him with a hand wave. Kravitz made his way back upstairs, lingering outside the apartment door. 

He'd need to tell Taako that he'd told Mara. A flutter of anxiety rippled through his stomach. If Taako told him to leave, could he do so again? He couldn't just consistently stomp through Taako's boundaries. Even if he'd claimed he would drag Taako kicking and screaming, he knew that would be the swiftest way to lose the elf. It was going to be difficult, but he set his resolve to go if Taako asked him to and seemed in sound mind.

Kravitz opened the door, finding Taako already making his way through the eggs. "Taako," he began. 

"Get the knives back from whatever pocket dimension you sent them to? Were they haunted and you like threw them in the stockade?" Taako laughed and took a forkful of egg. 

Just like before, he decided to be forthright. "I told Mara you had a rough night and asked her to bring the knives home with her when she left."

The elf froze in mid-bite. He sat the fork down carefully on the plate. "I told you I was fine, thug, don't start shit over nothing." His voice was the same detached sing-song as usual. 

Kravitz felt his eye twitch. "No," he responded coldly, "you didn't tell me you were fine. You didn't even acknowledge what happened last night. Which wasn't nothing, Taako. I found you in your tub, drunk, about to actually-- you were going to--" Kravitz stumbled over the words with a sudden surge of emotions. "You were going to kill yourself, Taako," his voice had turned into a plea, but the bounty hunter had no idea what he was begging for. Taako turned his head away, not looking at Kravitz. 

"Okay, yeah, _maybe_ I fucked up," Taako admitted. "But I'm fine. It won't happen again, homes. So just sit your fine ass down and dig into these sweet eggs." He turned back to Kravitz with a smirk, patting the seat of the chair next to himself. 

The bounty hunter rubbed his temples. "I know you don't like difficult conversations, love, but we have to talk--"

"I like when you call me 'love'; makes me feel all romantic and squishy inside," Taako interrupted. Kravitz recognized that the elf was still trying valiantly to derail the conversation like sending a train through a port. 

"Tell me why it won't happen again," he pressed. 

Taako's lips went in a thin line and he stared down at his eggs. "Because I say it won't. Don't you trust me?" He looked up at Kravitz intensely. 

It took an important part of Kravitz to swallow the lump in his throat and say, "You lost my trust last night, Taako." He didn't let his eyes waver from Taako's. The elf broke the staring contest, looking down at his eggs again. 

An acutely uncomfortable silence filled the room. Kravitz took a seat next to Taako. He'd let the other man decide what the pace of the rest of this conversation was. 

When the eggs had started to cool, Taako spoke, "How do I earn it back?" His voice was barely above a whisper. 

Kravitz swallowed, this was a lot easier than he'd expected. "I don't know right now," he replied. Taako gave a bitter laugh. "I want to find out, though, love." He placed a careful hand on top of Taako's. "Will you help me?" 

Taako turned his hand over under Kravitz's and laced their fingers together. He squeezed his eyes shut as tears trickled down his cheeks. The grip on Kravitz's hand was tight. 

Death was overwhelmed by the realization that he was a lifeline.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, sorry for the sad. I hope you're all enjoying this anyway. In a like cathartic way. 
> 
> I'm more sorry to Griffin than Justin because let's be honest, Justin strikes me as the kind of person who only jokingly cares. 
> 
> As always, new chapters will be posted according to my ability to impress a married woman with every ounce of my gay self. (I am only joking, her husbando is a bab and like bros before hoes eyyyy please don't come to my house to punch me for calling your wife a hoe. I meant it platonically.)


	3. Death is Cautious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How did death start living?

The divide between life and death was a drab place. There was nothing but a wash of greyscale. Emerging from the rift between the light pollution that was Taako's apartment and the permanent twilight of the astral plane, Kravitz had to squint before he could see. His stone buzzed before he'd made it back to his office. 

When no answer came but the caw of a raven somewhere far from the stone, Kravitz knew he was in trouble. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I know I sort of disappeared for a couple days." 

Silence was his reply. 

"He needed me," Kravitz rumbled. He flicked his scythe to the side of the office door, fumbling to close the door with the stone in his other hand. 

There was the distant rush of water. The caw outside the Eternal Stockade echoed through the stone. 

A bead of sweat rolled down his temple. Kravitz stood, staring at his office door and waiting. The door opened slowly, a shuddering creak rattling the godstone hinges. It filled with a vaguely humanoid shadow. The blackness slowly crept up the sides of the doorway as if water was flooding the outside world, leaving only inky darkness beyond. A hand extended from the blackness, pushing out from the doorway like the shadow was a thick curtain. 

The hand stretched towards Kravitz and he cowered back. It paused inches from his chest like it was holding something. Kravitz shakily held out his palm. The talons opened and dropped a ring in the center of where his love line was. Kravitz had long learned that nothing was ever coincidence and that every detail in these interactions mattered. 

A snap of her fingers and she was gone. 

Kravitz blinked into the empty hallway outside. The stone had gone dead. He craddled the ring close to his heart. 

Why had she chosen to reward him? 

The Raven Queen did not have a habit of bringing him baubles. She only gave him something when he'd especially pleased her. What made her happy seemed to be arbitrary. 

He opened his desk drawer. Inside was what few treasures he had. He laid each item out on the desk. 

The first item was a music book, the name and most pages missing. On the first untorn page stood out the question, ' _What do you want to be when you grow up?_ ' Childish scrawl answered ' _Orchestra conductor_ '. The second item was a bundle of broken strings with a splash of dried blood staining one end. It had taken decades to figure out it was the hair of a violin bow. The third item was a rusted shaving razor. He hadn't made sense of that until the fifth gift. The fourth gift was an empty, cracked perfume bottle. He still hadn't quite pieced together what that was. 

The fifth was a scrap of a letter in his own hand. The only legible words were ' _cannot go on_ ' and ' _too long to wait_ ', then the date at the top, presumably from the corner of the final letter. The year was blurred almost beyond recognition, but the first number fit Kravitz's internal timeline of his time as a bounty hunter. 

Kravitz had expected the gifts to stop. 

The sixth had ruined all of Kravitz's understanding of what had happened. It was a page torn from the journal of a healer bearing the date from the fourth gift. It detailed a man fitting Kravitz's description stumbling into the clinic moments before death with supposedly self-inflicted wounds. He'd read it over many times. The healer hadn't believed Kravitz's account of the suicide attempt or subsequent realization he wanted to live. It was the last snatch of words at the very bottom, continuing onto the next page which the reaper did not possess. Nothing more than, ' _Advise authorities to get involved, do not take patient's account as truth. Patient appears to be lying to--_ '. 

The seventh was a piece of colorful cloth. Kravitz had no idea what the point of that was. The eighth was a dried hyacinth bloom, looking like it'd been pressed between the pages of a book. Music notes had impressed themselves onto the delicate purple petals. He set the plain gold ring next to the others. 

Kravitz flicked a match to light the candle on his desk. It only glowed a softly, bringing no warmth or color to this dead world. 

An engraving caught the white flames as Kravitz examined the ring. The engraving was too worn to read more than the last three letters. ' _\--son._ '

Kravitz placed all the hints back into his drawer, locking it tight, his mind wandering. The pieces appeared to be in some semblance of chronology. Had he been in love or had someone loved him? That seemed to be the most reasonable conclusion. The ring brought him no closer to understanding what he was like before he died. 

This was a distraction from what he needed to concentrate on. The reaper had to settle back as much of his bounties as he could so he could beg his employer for time off. He realized he'd forgotten his cloak in Taako's bedroom. The material visage crumpled to ash out of frustration. It took three taps on the floor to bring the shadows over his boney shoulders as a substitute. 

The shadows were always a bit more arrogant after a visit from the Raven Queen. Kravitz shook his head and pulled open a rift, pinching out the candlelight as he stepped through.

After a few hours of slipping through realities and hunting astral criminals, the reaper had managed to pin down a necromancer in the outer planes. He had his scythe pressed right against the woman's throat when his stone of farspeech had rattled to life against his rib cage. "Krav?" It was Taako's sing-song voice. 

Normally, he'd call the elf back after he'd pulled in the bounty. He glowered down at the necromancer. "Sorry, I really have to take this." Kravitz ignored whatever the necromancer tried to say, tapping the button on the side and putting it near his mouth. "Hey, love, I'm here," he murmured. 

The necromancer crossed her arms and gave the hunter an exasperated expression. "Hey, babe, I just wanted to hear your voice," he could hear Taako's smile. If Kravitz had been in his more material form, he would have been helpless in holding back a smile of his own. Instead, the hell fires in his eye sockets softened. 

The woman hissed out a frustrated sigh, rolling her eyes. The fires went back to raging in an instant. "Can you give me just a moment? Just need to finish off this thing I was working on."

"Yeah, sure, handsome, do your thing," Taako laughed. Kravitz flicked the stone off and cracked his scythe down quickly. He grabbed the soul before it could go anywhere, pushing it into the shadows so he could take it to the Eternal Stockade with the others. He kicked the head as he walked over to a cliff, watching it arch off into the void. He turned the stone back on. 

"Okay, I'm done." Kravitz sat on the ground, letting his feet dangle over the oblivion below. 

There was a small hum in response, then a muffled yawn. "I'm havin' trouble meditating, nothing major, hon." 

Kravitz laid back, smiling. "Sorry I'm not there, love." 

"Ugh. You make me sound so needy, but yeah. I miss your pointy face." Taako snorted. "Your cold ass would make it even harder to relax. Like cuddling with a huge icicle." 

The reaper chuckled. "Mm, I have a feeling it's more about my hot face making things harder," he murmured it too quiet for even the shadows to hear. 

He was rewarded with Taako's delighted laughter. "And exactly how hot did that make your face to say?" Kravitz rubbed at his cheekbones and gave a noncommittal noise. "All bark and no bite, shark teeth," the stone teased. There was a little pause, where Kravitz didn't know what to say. Usually, Taako filled the silence, but he heard rustling on the other end as the elf moved around. "You like music, huh?"

Kravitz blinked at the sky. "Yeah. Yeah, I do," he replied. He could never tell where these sort of questions were going. 

"Wanna sing to me, Krav?" 

Kravitz squinted at the sky. He wasn't around more than snatches of music. "I don't really know anything except Candlenights songs," he replied a bit defensively. Taako made a disappointed noise. "I could sing you whatever nonsense comes to mind?" Normally, he would have tried to drop it, but he wanted to indulge his boyfriend given the current state of Taako's life. 

"Hit me with it, homes," Taako's over-enthusiasm to hear him sing boosted Kravitz's confidence. 

It started as silly rumbles about Taako's godsawful decorating skills until his brain caught the wave of a melody. Taako's playful rebuttals about his apartment quieted. The song came as naturally to Kravitz's lips as breathing. Something that could be forgotten in death, but too part of whatever fundamentals to be completely ripped from his muscle memory. He knew the tale, but not from where. A great musician mourning his wife, bringing the whole world to a stop with his grief. Even the Raven Queen wept and parted the curtain to the astral plane where his wife's soul waited. She told him to dive deep into the lake of souls and take her hand, then swim up without looking at her. Otherwise, she would be lost in the astral plane as only a memory. As he pulled her free from the doorway where the Raven Queen knelt, the musician turned to look at his lover. He saw her face for a moment, still within the astral plane, before her soul scattered. The curtain closed and the musician was alone.

They stayed silent and he could hear Taako's soft breathing on the other end. "That was kind of a downer, babe," Taako murmured. 

Kravitz rolled onto his side. "Sorry. I don't know where it came from, it just sounded right." 

"Don't get me wrong," Taako protested weakly, "I love Orpheus and Eurydice as much as the next man shaped being, bucko. Guess I thought you'd do some cheesy shit like sing me a lullaby from your childhood, you know? It was good, I liked it, just--"

"Wait," Kravitz sat up, interrupting, "that's a real song?"

The stone tsked. "Yeah, of course, homie. Did you think you were inimitable or some kind of original? Even that was sort of a quote, bones," his voice sounded like he was starting to drift off. Kravitz stared at a passing cloud, trying to figure out where he'd heard the song. "I'm gonna go catch some good meditation or sleep. Whichever comes first. Thanks for picking up, I needed it." 

The reaper's racing mind slowed down. "I'll see you in a few hours." He curled both hands around the stone. 

"It's terrible how much romance you've rubbed off on me, you big sap. That's one of the best sentences I've heard in my life," Taako was just barely whispering. There was silence for a while and Kravitz started to think Taako had really fallen asleep. Finally, "Love you, Krav." 

The stone was muted before Kravitz could say anything. "I love you, too," he replied to dead air. 

Kravitz summoned his scythe as he stood, letting the stone hang back against his ribs. He wondered if the song was as much a gift as the ring had been. The Raven Queen giving him a gentle warning that this could never end well. 

One day, Kravitz would be Orpheus only holding memories. 

_Yet_ , death thought, as he gazed down the void. It would be so much worse to turn back and watch what might have been fall apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, I am slamming these out pretty fast. Maybe fast enough to beat Griffin ruining my life, but we'll see. ;p 
> 
> As always: Arbitrary updates based on impressing someone currently lost in time and space AKA Mass Effect.


	4. Life was Precious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Death had to ask permission to feel alive.

Death enjoyed a game of chance. He considered this an extension of his employer's propensity towards fate. It was a poor man's imitation of controlling destiny. Asking the Raven Queen for time off was a bit of a gamble.

The Raven Queen rarely felt the need to speak. She also seemed to believe Kravitz was easily able to decipher her cryptic and, more often than not, abstract replies. For this reason, the reaper had a spare office dedicated to books of prophecy and divination.

Neither of these were schools of magic he considered himself particularly proficient in.

He dispatched a raven from the spare office with his request for a few days off. There had never been such a request from Kravitz before, but he knew he might be asking more frequently over the course of Taako's lifetime.

Ravens were reasonably capable of gathering most souls in Kravitz's absence, but they weren't as quick as the bounty hunter. They laid traps and reminded luck that fate did not favor their targets, something Kravitz was envious of. Wayward bounties fell for their tricks and the ravens swooped down for their reward. Rather, their ticket to a reward. Being inter-planar creatures born of the material plane, ravens expected payment. This was as much part of Kravitz's responsibilities as bounty hunting. Birds were usually easy to please, but some ravens had been born of souls whose bodies had been destroyed, but whose fate had not. Those had more difficult demands.

It had been a long time since death had needed to consider the state of the Raven Queen's finances.

Judging by the noise coming from the accounting room, the Raven Queen had also thought of this. Kravitz freed the ruffled raven from the room, passing it a copper for the delivery. It clicked at Kravitz and turned its head to the windowless walls. After a bit more haggling, the raven flew off with three copper and left the bounty hunter holding a sprig of peppermint as his employer's reply.

He put on a kettle in the staff room, then returned to accounting. Kravitz had religiously collected offerings when he first became a bounty hunter. Ravens had done it before, but they could only carry so much. They demanded nearly half the tributes as recompense for making so many back and forth trips. He had done away with their role in temples when he took over his responsibilities. The coffers looked rather sparse these days. The Raven Queen's temples had fallen into disuse as Kravitz gave ravens less and less opportunity to collect bounties. He had all but stopped collecting offerings. His employer hadn't seemed to mind; she considered it a matter of thought before gold. 

Feeling a better idea of how long he could be gone unless a raven was particularly lucky, he returned to the staff room. Kravitz put out the fire as the kettle wailed. He momentarily mourned the receding color and warmth as it drained away to embers. His form flickered, then materialized. He poured himself a cup of tea and set the mint inside. Anything above room temperature felt scalding, but he downed the tea quickly anyway. He was apprehensive of the answer.

The first thing he noticed made his heart sink. It was a bat near the handle. It meant he'd be busy at home. He thought of just washing the teacup out instead of reading reprimands about even asking. Telling Taako he couldn't come was going to be heartbreaking. He decided to search for more meaning. Next to the bat sat a swallow. His ears would have been pink if the astral plane was a bit livelier. It meant love, new beginnings, and its position could only mean his heart had long laid his home next to Taako. So, the Raven Queen expected him to somehow keep working even while away. Yet, a butterfly for overdue happiness was there, too. He smiled down at the cup. He didn't believe in divination, but he did believe the Raven Queen spoke through these obtuse methods.

She was terrifying, but kind.

Kravitz could only determine two other symbols. A closed book for an answer he needed to find and a hand for destiny. These were away, near the edge, a problem outside his concerns with Taako. The reaper paused, examining it more closely. A few drops nearby indicated sadness. It had never crossed his mind that Kravitz was still part of the flow of fate. He was no raven sprung from a too-early soul awaiting for his time to come.

Kravitz plucked the mint from the tea leaves, chewing on it. The Raven Queen liked mint and Kravitz had acquired a taste for it. He suspected her love was because it kept cats away. It always surprised him how easily he knew little details, but had no grasp of the larger ones.

There had been a deal he could not recall and now he was a tool to a more efficient astral plane. He tapped a claw on the black table. Ravens had only a few years to complete their tasks. It seemed absurd to think there was still a fate awaiting someone who had been dead for as long as Kravitz. The idea of being some sort of overgrown raven didn't sit well with him. Kravitz assumed he'd probably been a human or elf when he was alive. Even if he still had a beating heart, he easily dismissed either of those as a possibility for what he was now. The Raven Queen gave little in the way of answers. A raven cried from the windowsill and startled him into upturning the rest of the cup's contents. The bird plucked a copper from the sill and flew off. Kravitz knew no money was left outside accounting.

The Raven Queen did not allow for coincidence.

Kravitz sighed and cleaned up the staff room. Time for an existential crisis could come later. The reaper knew he would always have later. The stone against his chest buzzed, "You there, handsome?"

He flicked the stone on. "Hello, love. I was just on my way. The Raven Queen gave us the next few days," he answered.

"Good," relief was soaked into Taako's voice. "There's a thing we can go to tonight at the theater. It's one of Angus's novels turned into a stage-play, so it won't be _that_ good, but I guess we should help out my old apprentice."

Kravitz smiled at the stone. He knew very well that Taako loved all of Angus's books. His boyfriend unfailingly became so engrossed in every adaptation that the elf spent the entire play nudging Kravitz and trying to guess the answer, even though he already knew. "I suppose we should do our part to keep Angus gainfully employed," he agreed.

Taako paused, like he wanted to say something. "Angus re-wrote the third act in honor of Magnus. Mango hates-- damn it," Taako swore. Kravitz heard a loud noise in the background. "He use _d_ to hate the ending. So, I really _won't_ know how it happens this time. I know you hate that, bones."

There was a pause for Kravitz's side this time as he tried to think of when he might have ever given Taako that impression. "Actually, I think it's cute," he hummed. "The only thing I hate is how jealous I am of Angus."

"Why would you be jealous of Angus, handsome? You're, y'know, and he's," Kravitz could hear the little nose wrinkle in Taako's voice, " _y'know_."

Laughter came to Kravitz so easily when he talked to Taako. "If I was a little more clever like him, I would never stop writing. I'd always want you to look at me the way you read his stories," he murmured. Kravitz's cheeks were the only warm thing in the Eternal Stockade.

"Puke," Taako complained. "If you wanna talk poetry, then get over here and do it to my face, thug. Or in my ear, preferably," Kravitz could hear the grin. "With your hands on me." He was practically glowing from the words. "Not enough time if we want to make it to the theater for me to tell you how wrong you are if you think I crave a book more than you," Taako continued, his voice low. "Guess I'll just have to moan your stupid name." Kravitz's form flickered. "Or maybe beg you to bite me."

Death fumbled to gather his scythe and open the doorway to a new chapter. The time waiting on the other side could not be wasted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to apologize to Justin and Griffin. Mostly, I want to take this time to say sorry to my own mother. You didn't do anything wrong to raise a child who writes about an elf talking dirty to the grim reaper. Or for that child's realization that this will almost certainly become an explicit story of a wizard boning death and yes that pun was intentional. It's not you, it's me.
> 
> As always, this updates according to my ability to impress a certain someone. Which, right now, is at least twice a day because that certain someone replies quickly to all my drafts with "I love this". And they are my target audience so ;p


	5. Life Cannot Live

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Proximity did not mean perception.

Death was only a little late. This was mostly Taako's fault. 

It had been later than Kravitz had thought. He'd stumbled past the rift and managed to use his scythe to smooth out his entrance. There had been a bottle of cheap wine, two glasses and a handsy boyfriend waiting. It'd only taken Angus calling them three times on the elf's stone for them to get the hint. The former apprentice wanted to remind Taako the tickets were at the front, then had gotten worried when the elf hadn't picked up. 

At least Kravitz now knew the world's greatest detective shared some of his concerns. 

While Taako fixed his make-up in the bathroom, Kravitz sat on the couch. He noticed a napkin with a recipe for macarons addressed to Mara. "Finally giving up the secret to your head chef, I see," Kravitz commented as Taako returned, picking up the napkin. The elf's face looked momentarily panicked before the expression disappeared. 

Taako shrugged. "I was thinking about it. Tell no one what you read, homie," he purred, taking the napkin from Kravitz and putting it in the kitchen. "Half my charm is mystery." The reaper let himself laugh it off as they left the bakery.

When they were about halfway there, Kravitz had caught sight of his reflection in a window. They had to stop so Kravitz could wash all the lipstick off his face at the fountain. Apparently, Taako hadn't thought it was particularly important since he had figured it'd be obvious anyway. He'd flustered away all of Kravitz's protests by tilting his head, revealing a bite mark from earlier. With that, Kravitz supposed he shared some of the responsibility for them being late. 

The third date had ended with a peck. The fifth had started with a kiss. The seventh had progressed into something Kravitz considered as much an activity as the picnic they'd been on. Mostly because they'd had to navigate how elf tongues and very sharp teeth could work together so Taako didn't bleed out in his lap. When Kravitz had left their seventh date to go back to work, he had been unable to figure out why the ravens and his bounties kept laughing at him. As a gesture of goodwill, the Raven Queen had dispatched a hand mirror. Kravitz had learned to start washing his face immediately after dates.

Kravitz rubbed at the lipstick stain on his shirt collar again, hoping to fade the deep red into something a little less obvious. Taako leaned into his side as they left the fountain, their arms linked. "Still mad at me for not telling you about the lipstick thing?" Taako's tone was casual, but the reaper wasn't sure how genuine that was. 

He shook his head a little. "No, I'm not." Kravitz thinned his lips in a line, thinking. Taako seemed to think a lot more was going on behind his simple replies than there actually was. "I do like your make-up tonight, I shouldn't complain you're sharing." He smiled down at Taako. 

"Be glad I run a bakery or you'd be too sweet for me, handsome," Taako snorted. "I could have done your make-up if you'd come earlier. Upstage the lead actors by just walking in the room. By myself, I can only manage the supporting cast and maybe a director." Kravitz could easily imagine several scenarios where Taako brought down a house. Given the elf's track record, it wouldn't end well for the city. 

A man greeted Taako in passing. Taako responded in kind and wished the man luck with his magic. Kravitz gave an awkward half-wave so he wasn't impolite. As they were walking away he asked, "Do they come to the bakery?" 

Taako made a humming noise. "No, someone from the bar. Recognized me from TV," he laughed. "Seduced me to get help with a test. He's good with his mouth, so I'm not sure why he was worried." He winked up at Kravitz. 

The reaper shook his head. "Maybe it was just an excuse to approach the famous and beautiful Taako from TV. Famously beautiful, even." He gestured vaguely with his free hand. 

"Look, you are preaching to the choir. I know I'm cute, my man." Taako fluttered his eyelashes to emphasize. "Been sorta outta the game for a while, though, weird he recognized me. I haven't done TV in a long time. Oh well, made getting some action easy." He paused, looking at Kravitz's lips, then dropped his gaze away. "He was pretty chill about me saying your name in the middle of things, babe." 

Their arrangement had gone into effect about a year after Taako had started the bakery. Taako had asked if he could seek physical comfort elsewhere until Kravitz was ready. After clarifying they were still dating, he'd agreed. Taako was honest and often talked about his dates without getting into the gory details. Kravitz had yet to tell Taako sex was an intimidating prospect because he only had a vague recollection of how it all worked, much like how Kravitz sort of knew how to play the violin. He had a lot more evidence he knew about the violin, though. Intimacy hadn't crossed his mind, as more than something people sometimes did, between the period of his death and when he'd started dating Taako. 

Kravitz looked ahead, trying to formulate a reply. His brain had helpfully supplied _'Wish I'd been there'_ , but he decided against saying that out loud. Taako went on ahead in the conversation as they neared the theater. "You said your boss gave a few days off. Will you be staying with me the whole time?" His tone sounded hopeful. Kravitz managed to do the mental gymnastic necessary to catch up to Taako. 

"Yes, if that's okay with you," he replied. He wasn't sure if the coffers could take a stay at an inn, but he would make it work somehow. 

"Pfft, don't even act like that. Of course you're staying with me if you're not going home. Get to wake up next to a hot popsicle every morning," Taako sounded genuinely excited. Kravitz wanted to smack himself for not realizing he could just go back to the office while Taako slept. "You ever realize you're dating a dead guy? Just hit me like _wham_." Taako punched the palm of his hand. 

Kravitz laughed as Taako requested their tickets from the front desk. "I can't say I have that problem, love." 

They headed into the theater and found their seats. It had just started, so they weren't too late. Taako spent the play as he normally did, continuously whispering a stream of speculation. Merle, sitting on the other side of Taako with his kids and grandkids, kept sighing dramatically while staring at Taako. Taako had put the new puzzle together early on, which finally convinced Kravitz he did it for enjoyment and not because he already knew the answer. The actors had earned a standing ovation from the audience as they returned to the stage. 

Angus came on stage once the actors had taken their bow. "Thank you all for coming, ladies and gentleman," his voice would be no more than a nervous squeak without magical amplification. "I wanted to say this would not have been possible without the three men who helped raise me in the wake of the calamity. Tonight, we mourn one of them: Magnus Burnsides." His voice became more confident as he spoke. "I hope he's found his Julia beyond the Veil. Please, drink a toast to his name!" Angus clapped his hands and stepped off the stage. 

People began dispersing, either going home or to the after-party. Taako murmured his goodbyes to Merle and the dwarf's family, then sat, leaning heavily against Kravitz. Kravitz pushed the armrest up so he could pull Taako halfway into his lap. He pressed a kiss to the other man's temple. "You alright, love?" 

"Yes," Taako snapped. Kravitz took a deep breath so he didn't respond. The elf tensed in Kravitz's arms, then calmed down by slow degrees. "No," he said more softly, "No, I'm not alright." Kravitz played with a braid in Taako's hair. He would wait for the elf to collect himself. "Does it get easier? Never mind, that's a stupid question. Of course it doesn't." 

Kravitz hesitated, he'd wanted to tell Taako more about his past at some point. Maybe a distraction would be good. "I wouldn't know anyway. This is sort of a learning experience for me, too. Loss. Grief. Life, to some extent." He took Taako's hand and rested his cheek against the elf's head. 

They were the only ones left in the audience. Taako entwined their fingers. "You haven't ever lost someone?" Kravitz shook his head, ruffling Taako's hair in the process. "Why do you give me the time of day? I mean, I know I'm hot enough to stop death and all, but that doesn't seem why you stick around someone like _me_ ," his voice was soft, but the last word rolled off his tongue like an insult. 

It broke Kravitz's heart a little. "You make me happy." He paused and Taako looked like he was going to protest. Taako had asked him some form of this question a few times and it was always Kravitz's reply. He decided to press on, putting his happiness into more words. "Your laugh makes me laugh. I love your jokes, even the worst ones. When you take me on dates, you have an eye for peculiar things and we always have fun. Even though you won't let me have it often, I like your cooking. You call me shark teeth because you know it makes me feel better about that scar on your lip. Let's see," Kravitz paused as Taako unlaced their fingers and covered his face. The reaper pulled back to check on the elf, only to find his own mouth being covered. Taako still had a hand covering one side of his burning face, glancing at Kravitz, then away. 

"Okay, okay, okay, okay," Taako complained. Kravitz blinked, surprised. He had never made Taako blush; he slowly grinned and licked the hand covering his mouth. Taako pulled back, making a face. He got up from the seat, turning his head away from Kravitz. "You are one sick fuck, Krav. What kind of person licks a celebrity's hand? Bad people, that's who. Come on, we got a party to get to, _shark teeth_ ," he huffed. Kravitz knew it was all bluff and blunder when Taako grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the empty auditorium.

The after-party wasn't too far from the theater. The bar had been closed down for the night so they could conglomerate inside. Taako immediately found people to talk to, joining a random group of the city's citizens. As always, he both charmed and perplexed those who fell in his path. Kravitz managed to excuse himself, leaving Taako to his own devices. 

Angus was watching from the sidelines, despite being the man of the hour. Kravitz wondered if the detective was using some kind of magic to keep himself slightly apart in his own booth. The reaper sat down across from Angus who slid a glass of wine across the table. Ah, so he'd been expected. "You were late both times. It made more sense to do that speech about Magnus at the beginning," Angus noted. 

Kravitz rubbed at his chin, taking a sip of the wine. "Sorry, he lost track of time and I never have it." He chuckled awkwardly. Despite having watched the man grow up from a boy, he didn't really know him that well. 

"You want to ask me something. Finally requesting my permission to marry my dad?" Angus had waited for Kravitz to take another sip of wine and snorted when he coughed, trying to clear his windpipe. 

Once he'd managed to regain his breath, he took another swipe of the wine to clear the burn in the throat while shooting Angus a warning look. Angus just snorted. "Are you talking about Taako?" 

The smirk was a little too familiar. "Well, I don't really remember my parents much and Taako was my legal guardian. So, sir, it seems he's as close as I have to a dad. I know that's not what you're here to ask me, though. I just wanted to give you a hard time." 

_Oh yes_ , Kravitz thought, Taako is exactly where Angus learned that smirk. "Well, you're right. About me not being here for your permission. I did want to ask if, well, when you were living with Taako," he was trying to word this just right. "Did he ever seem sad?" Kravitz made a face. That was not really what he meant. He opened his mouth to correct himself, but it seemed Angus had gotten the point.

Angus put his elbows on the table and leaned forward. "Of course he was sad, everyone was sad after the calamity. He and the others saved, well, everything, but so many people lost everything, too. Taako and the others didn't start out fine, though. For Taako, I think he's always worried people are waiting for the opportunity to abandon him. Sometimes I'd go on trips to other towns and I'd be anxious the whole time that he might not be there when I got back." Kravitz felt a lump in his throat. He had never noticed. "He didn't say anything obvious, but he'd joke about things. When he didn't think anyone was watching, he just looked so sad and _tired_. I started making him promise to take me places for solving the mysteries. It doesn't take the world's greatest detective to figure out he's not okay or that Magnus's death is harder on him than others."

Kravitz looked down at his hands. "I didn't know," he whispered. 

"No," Angus replied, "I doubt he wanted you to. I still make him promise to bake me macarons every Monday. It's paranoid, but it gives me a reason to make sure he's awake early enough to make him eat breakfast with me before work. He talks about you a lot, sir." The detective smiled, Kravitz took another sip of wine. "So, I won't ask you to tell me what happened, but you have my permission to join us on Mondays. As long as you make sure it's every Monday, Kravitz." Angus's expression went serious. "Even if I'm not there, Kravitz. Every Monday. Do you understand?" The bounty hunter nodded and Angus smiled, turning his attention on the approaching Taako. Kravitz swallowed dryly. "Sir," the world's greatest son greeted. 

Taako slid in next to Kravitz and threw his arm around the other man. "Hey there, Angles. I was wondering where bones got. Getting a head start on telling you to get good, homie. I figured it out before the second act and I'm dumber than a box of rocks."

One elf-life of Mondays didn't sound like a bad sentencing to Kravitz. Taako had drawn himself up to his full height, finally looking the inch or two taller than the bounty hunter that he was. His eyes shone with pride. Angus adjusted his glasses and sat back. "I understand, sir, I'll try to do better," he didn't sound offended. 

Death did not realize what living was until he'd had the opportunity to look it in the face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise there's an over-arching story line. Trust me. It'll be fine. 
> 
> Probably.
> 
> As always, updates daily as long as I keep a certain someone impressed. Helped me cut back on too much whip cream this time around.


	6. Everything Lived

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Perhaps there was something in oblivion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't normally add notes, but thought I'd mention on the casual that lavender and rue are a natural cat deterrents.

Death woke up in time to watch a memory. Dawn crept along the wooden floor, splashing its light across the bed. Kravitz lay on top of the worn covers. He reached over to the first face that had mattered to him in a long time. The light caressed a curl that he brushed away, resting his hand on the head of the precious thing in front of him. Eyelashes fluttered as the moment began to pass. "You stayed," she whispered. The hope in her eyes broke him.

A raven cawed from the window. Kravitz found his hand resting on top of just sheets. He pulled it back as if stung. The raven cried at him more impatiently. "Will you give a man just a moment--!" He cut himself off when he rolled over to find the window in Taako's bedroom had been overtaken by shadows. In the center was a closed eye that opened as Kravitz finally took notice. He stumbled to his feet and across the room. 

In the center of the eye-shaped void was a feather. The reaper reached forward and plucked it from where it floated. 

When Kravitz blinked, she was gone, a rolled piece of parchment on the windowsill. It was rare for her to leave direct notes, but it had happened when she had complicated, precise orders. The note read, ' _The last of your songs died today. Bury her so they may remember you. Ravens refuse to work until they mourn. So they may remember you bury her. Rebuild their grieving or they will not heed you. Remember they buried her._ ' A hand-drawn map of the immediate area marked an 'x' over the bakery and had circled an area a few blocks over. Likely, it was a graveyard. Kravitz boggled at the note and read it several times over. If the ravens were refusing to work, that was bad. He summoned his scythe. He'd have to figure out how to explain it to Taako.

The reaper paused. He attempted to summon his scythe again. 

Nothing had happened. Kravitz pinched the bridge of his nose. He stuck his head out the window and whistled at a raven sitting in a tree, waving a copper. The bird flew up and sat on the windowsill. Kravitz glared at the creature. "If you feather dusters took my scythe, better tell me right now. Nothing drastic _needs_ to happen." The bird bit him, taking advantage of his flinch to steal the copper and fly back to the tree it had come from. "I know where you live," Kravitz shouted after it, pointing accusingly at the nest. 

"What are you doing?" Kravitz looked down at Taako staring up at him from the sidewalk. The elf had a few bags with him.

The servant of the Raven Queen straightened his wrinkled shirt and tried to look as dignified as he could with bed head after yelling at a bird. "Nothing. Just a problem employee." He pulled back from the window, closing it for good measure. If Taako replied, Kravitz didn't catch it. Claw marks across the windowsill meant Kravitz owed an apology already for being a bad guest. 

Noise of someone coming up the stairs spurred Kravitz into trying to smooth his curls into some semblance of order. He'd borrowed rather comfortable leggings from Taako after revealing that the suit was the only outfit he owned. He'd meant to take the shirt off, but had drifted off watching the stars and listening to Taako's soft snoring. He took it off now and set it aside, he'd figure out what to do with it later. As well as the thousand other tasks that had suddenly fallen from the window. He settled into a chair at the small kitchen table.

The doorknob turned and Taako pushed into the room with his bags. He paused when he noticed Kravitz, nodding approvingly, "Yes. Istus, thank you, this is exactly what I wanted. You never promised rewards, but I'm giving this one to you, honey." 

It was going to take Kravitz a few years to learn Taako-speak. He snorted at the elf with a half-smile. "What are you talking about? Me?"

"Sorry, nope, babe. I'm talking about more than a few fantasies about coming home that either just came true or became a lot more likely." Taako poked Kravitz in the chest with a smirk. "What I'm saying is Istus is making us a rad scarf, Krav." The reaper shook his head, deciding that would be all he could decipher from that.

Kravitz's expression turned apologetic. Taako circled around the little table, looking Kravitz up and down. "Sorry, about yelling out the window. Some things came up." 

Taako froze in front of the other man, frowning. "Do you have to go?" 

It was obvious Taako didn't want him to. Kravitz drummed his fingers, sighing. "I thought I might need to, but I can't. My employer left me with a map and dropped a raven rebellion in my lap. They stole my scythe while I was sleeping." 

The elf tried valiantly not to laugh, but he did anyway. "You have the worst job, homie." Kravitz grunted in agreement as Taako pulled out some biscuits from one of the bags. He kicked back in a chair across the table. "As someone who has experienced the life of adventuring once or twice, I'm probably proficient in treasure maps. Lay it on me, shark teeth." He took a bite of his breakfast as Kravitz spread the note across the table. "What's with the cryptic stuff at the start?"

Kravitz hummed. "My best guess is she wants me to restore her temple in the city. I think I used to be a bard, so maybe it's about when I was alive?" He tapped the table in quick succession with one finger while he thought. "Why would the ravens care?"

"Wait, you _think_ you used to be a bard?" Kravitz stopped tapping and looked up at Taako's curious face. 

_I am not ready for this conversation_ , Kravitz thought. "It's a long story," he murmured. His eyes fell back to the map so he didn't have to see Taako's disappointment. 

A finger under his chin forced his eyes back up. Taako's face was not disappointed, but angry. "I'm not going to do that pushy boyfriend shit, Krav, but the only thing I really know about you is that you wanted to be an orchestra conductor when you grew up," he let go of Kravitz's chin, folding his hands together on the table. "You don't have to tell me your life story, but I'd at least like to know how you like your tea or your favorite color." 

Kravitz clasped his hands and fiddled his thumbs. "I like my tea with a little bit of mint. My favorite color is the deep ocean on a sunny day," he said quietly. Taako snorted.

"That's a really pretentious favorite color," he smirked. Kravitz looked away, a little red. He had considered just saying blue, but thought the next question would be about the shade. Taako pulled the map back over and finished off the biscuit he'd been eating. "So the burial stuff is that thing about putting a raven feather in the keystone of a temple, right?" 

The reaper nodded, mildly surprised. "I didn't realize you knew anything about the Raven Queen, if I'm being honest." 

Taako tugged at an ear as if embarrassed. "I looked into stuff when we started dating. Figured if I was going to be brushing up against death, I should brush up on some reading." He sat back, crossing his arms. "I got you some clothes this morning, babe. Since my wardrobe doesn't fit you." Kravitz tried not to look apprehensive. Taako rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, I kept it within what I thought you'd wear in public, boring. Wish I'd known you weren't shy about being shirtless, would have half the bags." 

To Kravitz's shock, the bags really were just full of clothes he could easily see himself in. He pulled on one of the grey tunics. Taako sighed dramatically. "Thank you, love." Kravitz leaned over to peck the elf on the lips. Taako reached up, pinching near the point of one of his ears as he sat back.

The touch had been unexpected and pleasant, sending a jolt straight south. A little noise of appreciation escaped Kravitz before he could stop it. He covered his mouth and swatted away the elf's hand. Taako quirked an eyebrow, then grinned, putting his hand back on the table. "Wasn't what I was going for, but Istus be blessed or damned or whatever. Going to file that away for later." He laughed at Kravitz's slightly annoyed look. The reaper felt like he'd just revealed an easily exploited weakness. Already being weak to Taako in general, he thought this was a _bit_ unfair. "Listen bones, it's always bothered me you have that piercing but you never wear an earring in it. Probably a job hazard, huh?" Kravitz touched his ear self-consciously. He didn't know he had any piercing holes. "Or does it fall off when you get real spooky? Well, whatever, I got you this earring. Thought you could wear it if you're here for a while. It's not a big deal." Taako slid a simple wooden box over. 

The way Taako flicked his eyes up hopefully and worried his bottom lip told Kravitz it was a big deal. The reaper examined the box. The box itself was well-made; it smelled faintly of lavender and rue with subtle details that Kravitz immediately recognized as signs of the Raven Queen. There was the possibility it was an artifact when the Raven Queen's worship had been more pronounced, but he doubted it. Her followers usually preferred being low-key. That left one option; Taako had gotten a master craftsman to make the box. He opened it carefully after tracing the carvings reverently. Inside was a bit of dust and a silver earring. The earring had a jewel that matched his eyes well, of course, but was much simpler than he thought it would be. He was distracted by small initials on the inside of the lid from whoever made the box. ' _MB_ '. Kravitz felt a small prick at the corner of his eyes. _Oh_ , he thought. This had been a gift Taako had held onto for a long time. 

Taako caught where he was gazing and reached forward to put a hand over the letters. "The box was just, you know, I asked Magnus if he had any boxes laying around for some cheap jewelry. He's always been stupidly sentimental, you know how he is-- _shit_ \-- was. It's-- he knew it meant more than just-- he always sort of got me--" Taako rested his forehead on the table with the rush of words and squeezed his eyes shut. 

Kravitz reached across the table and put a hand in Taako's hair, playing with it. "I kept thinking I'd find a better earring so it was as nice as the box but your eyes are so weird that I _didn't_ ," the elf continued shakily. "Magnus kept saying that you're such a sap you'd be happy to shove a twig through your ear, but-- I promised I'd finally give it to you this year. It's not Candlenights, but I don't care." Taako raised his head and Kravitz brushed away a few tears with his thumb. His tone turned more hopeful, "And maybe if you wear it to work and it's not too late, he'll see I'm keeping my promises." 

The reaper smiled. "I need a mirror." Taako sat up and scrubbed at his face, dashing back to the bathroom. He brought a little hand mirror that looked oddly familiar back to Kravitz, holding it up for the other man to see. Kravitz did find the piercing hole he'd never noticed, putting the earring on and smiling up at Taako. "I think I could upstage the lead actors now."

Taako put the mirror down on the table. "It looks nice, but don't get an ego on me, shark teeth. We both know I have enough for three people," he winked at Kravitz, still a bit teary eyed, and sat in his lap. The reaper adjusted so they were both comfortable. "So, are we going to the clinic today or the graveyard? Normally I'd say fuck crypts, but I'm sorta not about having to reveal my deepest darkest to a complete stranger, either." 

After a few talks about how Taako could earn back Kravitz's trust, they'd decided to seek out the clinic to get Taako help. These were things Kravitz could not and did not know how to completely deal with. Being an elf who thought he was only charming if he was mysterious, Taako was not thrilled about the specifics. Kravitz kissed Taako's shoulder. "We said the clinic today, didn't we? The ravens can keep my damn scythe for now."

The elf nodded, taking a deep breath. "Best to get it over with, I guess." Kravitz caught sight of himself in the mirror again and saw a woman flicking his ear. Same eyes from before, but not his. He blinked and she was gone. "But I think I did good this morning with the clothes. Think we have some bonus level shit before we get back to the main quest, babe?" Taako twisted his fingers into Kravitz's curls. The reaper eagerly leaned up to kiss the here and now. 

Death pushed away the dawn and a curl, too frightened of what it meant to know his favorite color.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did promise there are like things happening probably. Just needed to settle out some of the basics. 
> 
> Also, let me know in the comments but like..... how does fashion even work in the TAZ universe. Asking for a friend.
> 
> As always, updated to keep a friend in suspense about exactly how cryptic I can get. Hoping to finish this fic before someone comes into my office and sees all my post it notes with things like "MURDER ????? KIDNAP ????" scattered everywhere.


	7. Neither Living

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A visit to the Raven Queen, from the Raven Queen.

The Grim Reaper felt both at home and out of place in a clinic. They were waiting in a small lobby to see a specific healer. It was so far without incident, but Taako's grip on Kravitz's hand had tightened by degrees. 

A helper came from the back. "Taako--" the helper paused, squinting at their clipboard, "Taaco?" 

Taako gave Kravitz a look he couldn't quite interpret, then stood and followed the helper to the back. Kravitz glanced at the half-moon indents left in his hand by Taako's nails. The raven's bite from earlier still needed to be taken care of, as well. At least they had decided to stop by the graveyard later so he could attempt to take care of it. Kravitz had really just wanted to assess the damage. The astral plane could not be too long without those seeking its escapees.

His mind drifted to the brief flashes from this morning. The second wouldn't have bothered him if not for the first. Timing was everything and it hadn't escaped Kravitz that the Raven Queen's note had said to ' _Remember they buried her._ ' 

The eyes from the morning belonged to the woman in the mirror, framed by Kravitz's curls. Missing her front teeth and looking at Kravitz like he had hung the moon. He tried hard to push it back; he'd known discovering his past wouldn't lead him somewhere nice. The reaper had done his best to make peace with the fact that he was dead and had been dead for a long time. Everyone he had loved or who had loved him had crossed into the Veil long ago. 

They had buried her. They had buried his daughter. 

Kravitz hadn't considered he'd had a family. That thought had always struck him as wrong. Even seeing the girl from his memory and knowing, somehow, it still felt _wrong_. Neither the girl nor the woman had been his, he knew that. They clearly had been his, too. 

Two flashes of memory was more than Kravitz had ever had. Yet, overwhelming in their implications.

Taako emerged from the back, his eyes looked red. Kravitz didn't feel like it'd been long, but he stood up to greet him. "How did it go?"

The elf took Kravitz's hand and steered them outside. "It was real awkward, if I'm honest. Doc wants me back in two days," he hummed. 

The reaper hesitated, "Is that normal?" 

The silence stretched for a while as they walked towards the graveyard. "No, she's _concerned_ about me," he huffed. "She told me people don't just sit front and center in the calamity and have their boyfriend drag their stupid ass out of a tub and get to say they're okay." Taako bared his teeth as he ranted. " _Fuck_!"

Still unsure of how to approach any of this, Kravitz tried. "Thank you for talking to her," he murmured. "I know it's not about me, but it makes me feel better." Taako moved closer to Kravitz. They walked past the gates of the cemetery. The elf pulled them to a stop on the cobblestone path. 

"While you're doing your raven thing, I think I'm going to visit Magnus." Taako gestured behind himself, up the hill they had watched Magnus buried atop. Kravitz nodded and left Taako to turn to the hill. The challenge belonged to the elf. 

Kravitz moved to the heart of the graveyard. A decrepit crypt was in the center. The flock of ravens on top glared down at Kravitz as he approached. He could see the outline of where a larger temple had once been. Its stone corners crowded against by old graves, but it seemed only the basement survived whatever had brought the building down. The basement was generally the most important part of the Raven Queen's temples. He tapped the signs on the door to the crypt, pushing forward. The solid stone slab yielded to his touch, scrapping back and then entirely disappearing. Kravitz whistled and the torches inside bloomed with white fire. The ravens outside sang the tune back to him. Three chose to fly past Kravitz, sailing to the abyss below. One sat on his shoulder. 

The reaper had a complicated relationship with the ravens. The one on his shoulder clicked at him and pulled one of its feathers out, dropping it at his feet. He blinked, then got the message. He pulled out the feather the Raven Queen had given him. The raven cooed and plucked it from his fingers, seeming content to simply hold the feather. Kravitz cautiously pet the bird, wondering if it'd been related to the one that had died. He began his descent into the real part of the temple, the door sliding shut behind him. 

Dust and cobwebs riddled the place. Most of the pews were rotten, but the structural integrity seemed intact. Kravitz was most worried about the magical foundations. Judging by the number of torches that hadn't lit like the others, there was a good reason to think the keystone had been compromised, causing the decay. If there had once been a large enough sect to warrant an above ground temple in the past, then there should have been enough magic to keep the place maintained and dust free. The ravens being unable to pass through the stones had been his first sign. Kravitz paused at another unlit torch. He pet the raven's head, thinking, "What do you think, desecration or ruin?" The raven clicked deep in its throat, a deep rumble. "Desecration is what I was thinking, too." 

The keystone was behind the altar. Someone had cracked through it and the original temple feather was missing. Kravitz _tsk_ ed at the destruction. Some people seemed to think the Raven Queen was the harbinger of death, not merely its enforcer. The raven flew to the alter to watch Kravitz, the three others placing themselves on the perches carved into the walls. He whistled as he cleaned cobwebs and filth from the inside of the keystone. Once that task was complete, he looked up at the ravens. "One of you make yourself useful and get me some chalk--" The raven on the altar dropped a piece of black chalk on the ground. It rolled over to where Kravitz was sitting cross-legged. "Well," he laughed, "someone is getting treats when this is all over." The other three ruffled their feathers while the altar bird preened. 

At least these ravens didn't seem to be cooperating in the rebellion. He started to draw out the complex lines and circles he would need to bless the temple and close its keystone once again. Some of the magic would be restored, but he'd have to petition the city for funds to make this place once again accessible for the birds to properly mourn. Which would require Kravitz either finding or recruiting a follower of the Raven Queen. Kravitz wasn't really supposed to do official things, but he could if he was unable to find an alternative. Help would be sparse; he suspected even the four ravens with him simply wanted to experience the odd wash of memories that came with redoing a temple keystone. 

When Kravitz finished the ritual, the memories of those birds that had been buried here would flood the ravens present, while the people would hear a single memory of the bird in the keystone. The ravens rested what they could of their dead in the temples. It added some of those birds' memories to the place. Ravens would visit to grieve or to learn of the past, but it was something only they experienced. The ravens of those with unfilled fates used temples as tools for finding their paths. Kravitz knew this from the Raven Queen. While her temples had fallen into disuse by humanoids, the reaper tried to make sure the keystones stayed intact for the birds. The city's ravens had a right to be peeved about their place of worship being broken. It wasn't recent, but there were two other graveyards in the city according to Taako. They were likely much smaller than the deep tunnels and rooms of this one. If the birds hadn't petitioned Kravitz until now, then those two had been desecrated sometime over the last few days. 

The reaper sighed and picked up the feather from the altar, setting it inside the keystone. He started to sit in the center of the black circle, but stopped as he remembered the ritual could take some time. Kravitz plucked a piece of cloth off his tunic and gave it to the bird on the altar. It was looking around curiously, so he whistled to get its attention; it sang the tune back to him. "Would you find Taako for me? He's the beautiful elf, he's wearing blue today, on the hill," he whispered at the raven. The raven took off, he heard the door opening and closing. At least anyone already inside could always leave. Kravitz sat in the center again and began to concentrate on the blessing.

After a few minutes, he heard the door opening and Taako's sing-song voice echo down, "--did what you said, bird brain, it's not-- Oh." The raven cawed, then he heard Taako's hesitant steps down. "This is really _crypt_ ic, feathers. I hope you know where we're going." The corners of Kravitz's lips twitched, but he kept his eyes closed to concentrate. The steps became closer as Taako picked his way around the decay. "Hey, Krav, next time can you send me a message that's a little less ominous? I thought you might have gotten kidnapped and this was the ransom note, babe." His steps paused around the edge of the chalk, then there was rustling noises as Taako adjusted his skirts to sit. 

Kravitz merely hummed in reply, trying not to interrupt what he was doing. 

"Going to be real, didn't think you did magic. Should have guessed you did cult shit," Taako's voice had gone to a whisper as it echoed in the large room. "Since this is probably going to take a while, I'm just going to read, homie." Kravitz heard more rustling as Taako dug a book from his bag. 

Eventually, the preparation he needed for the blessing was completed. He opened his eyes to find Taako sitting in front of him, reading some tome of magic. Kravitz tried not to become distracted, reaching forward and touching the chalk sigils before him. The chalk began to glow, a low hum starting in the room. Taako looked up at Kravitz, then farther up, jolting back slightly, hugging the book to his chest. The reaper felt the Raven Queen's presence at his back. Not just shadows sent in her place, but the Goddess of Death coming to approve the rejuvenation of the keystone. Kravitz kept his eyes forward, the blessing was about trusting her, too, and there was no one he trusted more than her. 

" _Kravitz_ ," she breathed, her voice just the echoes in the room. Taako still stared up at her, wide-eyed. " _This great temple fell days before you became part of me. From my hands, you robbed the ravens while staring me in the face; as you have taken all important things in your life. Yet, even I could not grant you your ransom. You accepted my mask as a poor imitation of that which was stolen from you. The one you bury is the last to remember your heist. Heed her memory, for your freedom and my own._ " It was difficult for Kravitz not to turn around, but this was not the time. These were the answers she would give him. 

" _Taako_ ," Kravitz tensed. Taako's arms tightened around his book. " _Remember my face, for it is the face of your lover, too. Who you speak it to will reflect upon him._ " 

The Raven Queen's presence disappeared. The unlit torches in the room flared to life and the four ravens cried their approval. The memory was brief. A great expanse of ravens crowded around a tower, a man's voice ringing above them as they listened, enchanted. He sang a fragment of the tune Kravitz had sung to Taako not days before, of Orpheus and Eurydice, then the memory was gone. 

Taako met his eyes as the memory cleared, still alarmed, "What the _fuck_ just happened, Kravitz?" He dropped the book into his lap and stared down at the crumpled pages. He began half-babbling, "Like, seriously, that was a little _too_ weird. It was the Raven Queen, right? First question: Why does she look like you? Second question: _What?_ "

There was little by way of answers in death. Death, too, needed a moment to breath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, look, stuff actually happening and stuff. 
> 
> As always, so far daily updates as I try to confuse and alarm one of the biggest independent cheer squads I know. Hope you're all enjoying it!


	8. Neither Dying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Perhaps it was not a completely great idea for Death to date Destiny. This did not completely matter to Kravitz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter, but didn't want to leave people hanging.
> 
> Wow, I wrote that comment when I was only halfway through and then didn't have the heart to delete it to show you guys how much this fic has taken over my life.

The Grim Reaper took a deep breath. Kravitz needed to sort through each thing individually. His mind threatened to simply blank out and push away the overload of information. The best course of action seemed to be to address Taako's questions. 

"Taako, for your first question, what do you mean she looked like me?" That was the easiest to ask. Kravitz had, of course, seen his employer a few times and could handily say she did not, in fact, look like the reaper. 

Taako was flipping through his book with a look of concentration, bangles jangling on his wrists. "She looked like you, my dude. I don't know what else you want me to say," he sounded distracted. "Hold on, shark teeth, I have an idea." 

Kravitz watched the elf curiously. "What are you--" he started.

"Hah!" Taako put the tome down on the ground a little harder than Kravitz thought was necessary. "I knew this stupid book would come in handy!" He spun it around to face Kravitz, pointing at a passage excitedly. 

The words on the page looked like complete gibberish to the reaper. "This isn't a language I can read, love," he murmured, shaking his head and looking back up. 

Taako's eyes did not lose their gleam. "Oh, well, that's fine. I'd been thinking for a while that you're, you know, sort of _weird_." Kravitz pressed his lips together, unsure of where this was going. "Sorry, not like, you know, _weird_ weird. 'Cause we both know I'm sort of into your _je ne sais quoi_. Just that, well, I have no idea _what_ you are. Like, as a servant of a god. I mean, I work for Istus, but I'm not dead and I can't turn into some kind of spooky skeleton ghost. There's champions and knights and all kinds of things, but they just didn't _fit_. I stole this book from a library a few towns over, but whatever. I'm getting more use out of it than they are," he waved his hand dismissively. Kravitz sighed deeply. "Damn thing was filled with dust. But!" Taako clapped his hands together, bangles clinking together. Kravitz sometimes forgot exactly how competent his boyfriend could be when he was on a train of thought. "She said something about faces and masks and you being part of her. Not just serving her, but _part_ of her, Krav."

Kravitz still had no idea where this was going, but he nodded. That was what she had said. Taako gestured wildly. "You must be an aspect. Which is cool as hell, but also sort of weird," he finished with a flourish of his hands. Then, he frowned, pulling the book back around. "Except aspects are just another face of a god. I mean, there isn't a lot known about them, but it seems people sort of assume they're just a mortal version of the god they represent. But they can also have different powers and personalities. I guess. That's where it gets confusing." The reaper's brow creased as he listened, trying to keep up. The elf seemed to finally notice he wasn't really getting it. "See? That right there. The Raven Queen knows, but you don't. An aspect is supposed to literally _be_ a god. But also not sometimes. If you're an aspect, then you're the Raven Queen, too."

The reaper laughed. Taako frowned, looking slightly offended. Kravitz held up a placating hand. "This morning, you asked me why I only think I might have been a bard. It's hard for me to talk about, I'm not really ready to talk about it, but I suppose I must." He paused and took one of Taako's hands, rubbing a circle over the knuckles. "I don't know anything from before I started working for her. What I am, what I was," he hesitated, licking his lips, "I have no idea. Minus a few things that I need to make sense of first before I can speak them. This is a good theory, but it can't be true. I've talked to her, I've seen her face, too. She is not like me. I am an extension of her will, but not of her. Thank you for trying, though." 

The elf reached forward and put his free hand on Kravitz's cheek. "Why didn't you tell me?" He looked sad; despite an obvious attempt to disguise his hurt, Kravitz could see it in his eyes. 

Snippets of the conversation with Angus the night before surfaced in the reaper's mind. He leaned into the touch. "I suppose I didn't want you to worry. We both know I died and it probably wasn't pretty." Kravitz turned his head to kiss the palm of Taako's hand, then stood while keeping his hold on the other hand. "The concerns of a dead man probably seem so trivial. We should probably head home; you must be hungry." 

Taako stood, then threw his arms around Kravitz and hugged him. It seemed more aggressive than strictly necessary. "Shut up. Of course I want to know the concerns of my dead man," he hissed in the bounty hunter's ear. Kravitz laughed and kissed his cheek. "My legs are killing me," he complained. "I was sitting for like two hours. Can you just drag me like this?" 

"I may not need to breath, but you'll scuff your shoes. I could carry you, but how many people do you want to see up your skirt?" Kravitz pulled back a little from his boyfriend.

The smirk was immediate. "Right now? Just one. Don't even have to wait to be carried for that one either." Taako lowered one hand to hike the long skirt up a few inches.

Kravitz rolled his eyes. "Okay, walked right into that one. As it so happened, walking is exactly what we'll be doing to get home." He was trying to keep his expression neutral, but the corners of his lips were threatening to twitch upwards.

A whine was Taako's response. He heard the murmur of a spell against the shell of his ear, then the elf was floating just slightly. "I refuse," Taako protested. 

Levitate. Of course. "Fine, fine, you owe me when we get home." Kravitz sighed deeply.

There was a breathy laugh in his ear. "Really want to say some stuff, but I feel bad you're so easy, babe," the sultry whisper made him shiver. Kravitz didn't need too much of an imagination to hear all the acts Taako didn't voice. A blush spread across his face. Taako nuzzled a cheek. "Mm, there it is, now maybe my face won't freeze off before we get home." The ravens cackled from their perches and Kravitz turned to let Taako grab him around the neck from behind. 

"Taako, did you know raven feathers are excellent decorations?" He was grousing at them, but the ravens cackled louder and Taako joined their laughter. Kravitz wished they would take him a bit more seriously as he made his way up the dusty steps. 

He squinted out of the dark crypt in the light of the setting sun. He hadn't realized so much time had passed. At least it was only a couple of blocks back home. 

"So, was that all you needed to do?" Taako had slung his arms more comfortably around Kravitz's shoulders. 

He hummed in response, shaking his head a little. "No, have to find a follower of the Raven Queen. One with magic, preferably. Some of the foundations need to be fixed." 

Taako squeezed him. "What are the benefits again?" 

Kravitz pursed his lips. "I'd rather you not offend the Goddess of Destiny, love." 

"Ugh. Yeah, right. Almost could forget I don't even have a choice about my damn religion. Personally, I'm finding Death a lot more agreeable than Destiny right now-- er," he paused. Kravitz pinched the bridge of his nose, but kept walking. "Didn't mean it like that. Sorry. Just the idea of the natural order rather than that I was predestined to suffer. Sounds a bit better, huh?"

One of Taako's hands reached down to squeeze one of Kravitz's, causing him to float a few inches higher. Some people looked at them oddly as they passed. "It's alright, I understand," Kravitz soothed, squeezing Taako's hand back. 

The grip on his hand tightened. "Do you? Istus once told us we were unique. That's why she wanted us, so we could clean up other people's messes. Everything horrible that happened was meant to happen because people were allowed to do shit that wasn't meant to happen. That's horseshit," Taako snarled. His arms were tense around Kravitz. "Maybe I just wanted to think I had control over my own _fucking_ death, homie! _Maybe_ I don't want to waste away from a fucking cold because my immune system went to shit after Wonderland. Or eaten by a fucking dragon trying to save people who _don't even give a shit about me_. But I don't get that, do I? I don't have _anything_ ," he ranted. Kravitz let him go, uninterrupted. All of the tense energy in Taako seemed to evaporate at once and he laid more heavily against Kravitz's shoulders. He felt the shake of the elf's sobs. 

This was the part that Kravitz didn't know how to deal with; why they'd gone to the clinic. "You have me," he whispered, trying to soothe Taako. "Not in the selfish way, but," he tried to consider how to word this, "The Raven Queen said I stole whatever I am, right? I wasn't meant to be here. I belong to you so completely, Taako, it scares me. I'm not part of destiny, but I am yours." Kravitz let out a breath after he'd said it. It was more than he'd meant to. He felt Taako start crying harder against his shoulder, hugging him tighter. His heart clenched and he let go of Taako's hand before ice could spread to it. "Sorry, love, sorry, I didn't mean to upset you more--" his voice was panicked, trying to correct his mistake.

"Shut up," the elf sobbed. "You're gonna make me puke. Too much romantic," he laughed, still crying. "I love you." It was only the second time Taako had ever said it to Kravitz and it caught him off-guard. "Just-- just give me a minute, okay?"

Kravitz stayed silent for the rest of the walk home; Taako's sobs quieted as he clung to the reaper. 

Death thought, as he opened the door, that there was an impressive amount of things he had to do. This was in consideration that he was not meant to do them. It did not escape his notice that Taako was a creature who had, historically, eliminated those who lived outside of destiny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look, plot! 
> 
> Also, just to clarify, I assumed part of Taako giving up vitality in Wonderland translated into a terrible immune system. Kravitz is only vaguely aware of it. It'll be more part of the story as Taako gets sick. 
> 
> For that _certain_ someone! Maybe more typos than usual.
> 
> Maybe I'll finish this before next week (April 6th, 2017) when everyone dies or something and then I just have to start the first chapter with "POST CANON DIVERGENT BECAUSE GRIFFIN HATES OUR JOY".


	9. Beyond the Reach of Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Was there something more to death?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't caught up to episode 59: This is your spoilers warning.

Levitate wore off as they entered the apartment. It'd made Kravitz stumble with the added weight, but he'd recovered and swept Taako up into his arms. He'd dumped the laughing elf onto the couch, then leaned down to kiss him. Taako had pulled Kravitz down by the collar of his shirt for a second, third kiss, then Kravitz sort of lost track. He adjusted so he was kneeling on the pink carpet with his upper half laying across Taako's chest, arms on either side of the elf. The kisses were broken by Taako as he pulled back to gasp for breath, panting. 

"I have," he wheezed, "so many ideas for your breathless thing I wish I could use. Have to fix the cold thing first, though, my dude." Kravitz chuckled, continuing kisses down Taako's jaw, then to his neck. He carefully nipped and licked his way to Taako's shoulder. His teeth were too sharp not to leave marks, but Kravitz had learned his boyfriend was far too into biting for it to be necessarily healthy. Each mark elicited a deep moan, lengthening the amount of time Taako needed to recover. Kravitz loved the noise, which Taako seemed helpless to make, but it made the bounty hunter glad the apartment had no neighbors to alarm. The elf's hands went into Kravitz's curls, pulling him back. "Really want to get into the hot and heavy, shark teeth, but," he panted, "been too long since I've been to the bar. 'Fraid 'm gonna embarrass myself. Why don't we have a wine 'n cuddle 'n whine?" 

Kravitz smiled and pecked Taako on the lips. "Sounds fine. I'll go get the wine since your legs hurt too much from sitting." Taako possessed shame immunity and stretched across the couch, making an approving noise. The wine from yesterday had barely been touched, so Kravitz collected it and two glasses, bringing them back to the coffee table. He poured them each a drink, handing one to Taako. Kravitz started to sit on the floor, but Taako stopped him, making room on the couch. 

"Did say cuddle, bones," he protested. The reaper sat next to Taako who immediately curled on his lap. Kravitz put his arms around the elf and took a drink. "Now for the whine," he murmured. "'Bout earlier, it's been a long day, homie. Don't think about it too much." He took a sip of the wine and looked off to the side. "Been through a lot worse than not getting to choose my patron deity, let me tell you that much, handsome." 

"That you've been through so much is what worries me, love," Kravitz replied. 

It was honest, but Taako didn't seem to want to talk about his own problems. "Seems like you've been through a lot, too, Krav. So, why don't you sing to me more if you're apparently good enough to steal the ravens from the Raven Queen? Wouldn't mind being serenaded every now and then, yanno." He turned slightly so he could tap Kravitz's lips and look up at his eyes. 

This wasn't a conversation Kravitz wanted to simply let drop. The reaper had the worry that if Taako completely swerved around these issues with Kravitz, he wouldn't talk about them at all with the doctor he didn't trust. Kravitz did enjoy gambling. "How about this, Taako. An honest answer for an honest answer? You ask me a question and I ask you a question. Neither of us want to talk about our pasts, but we probably should, hm? No judgement, no interruptions. You can say no." 

Taako's hand dropped away. Kravitz was betting the elf's curiosity got the better of his secrecy. "Okay. Fine. I get first question. Why do you think you were a bard?"

The celebration could come later. Kravitz had, at least, anticipated this question. "The Raven Queen gives me trinkets from when I was alive. Three of them are about music. A child's music book, bloody hair from a violin bow, and a pressed flower with music notes on it. Some of it is intuition, too." Taako blinked, surprised at how honest that answer was. "What happened to you in Wonderland?"

He regretted the question almost instantly. Given what Taako had said earlier, Kravitz thought that might have been an easier question. The elf's face looked like he might simply shut down. An apology and another question were on the tip of the reaper's tongue. "A lot of suffering, if I'm honest." Kravitz gave him space to take the question at his own pace. "It was run by liches who fed off our suffering; they asked us to sacrifice a lot. We figured out how to undo most of it. Magnus had a new body, so the lucky bastard is-- _was_ fine. It was bad, Krav, after the first round I was coughing up blood. Wasn't sure we'd make it out and some part of me was fine with that." He took a sip of wine and Kravitz forced himself not to react. "Stuff like Merle's darkvision and my beauty we managed to restore since they were just curses, but not the more tangible things. Merle still has only the one eye and they stole some of my life force." He swirled the wine around the glass. "You probably noticed I get pretty sick. Won't be surprised if I picked up something more than appointment at the clinic today. What a relief when I could stop casting disguise self all the time when I broke that stupid curse. First thing I did after the calamity." Kravitz remembered many conversations interrupted by coughing. He really had no basis of comparison for how often elves were sick, so he'd just assumed it was the normal amount. "How do you know these trinkets were from your life?"

Kravitz hadn't entirely been expecting that one. "When the Raven Queen gave me the first one, she said as much. Something about them being all the things that led to our deal." Taako tilted his head curiously, but held his tongue. "Why was your beauty the first thing you picked to do?"

Taako laughed and stretched out more across the couch. "You, you dingus. That's why I didn't ask for any dates until the bakery was open. Couldn't have my boyfriend see me _plain_. I mean, I _like_ you, homie. Wanted to keep you around." Kravitz almost broke their little deal. He couldn't believe Taako thought he was shallow. "Could tell it was a curse, too. I may not be classically trained out at fuckin' Hogwarts, but ain't no dipshit neither. Ango may a helped a little. After we cracked the first code, was pretty easy to get the others. Got really good at magical cosmetics though. 's why both of us aren't covered in make-up. I anticipated today's need for water-proof." That made Kravitz feel a little better about Taako's judgement of the reaper. "So, the Raven Queen said they were, basically, all the things that led to your death?" 

The reaper paused, thinking for a moment. "I suppose you could read it that way, yes. I hadn't ever considered it." He thought about the next question. "What happened to Lup?" 

That question garnered a flash of a glare. "Pass," Taako snapped. 

Kravitz nodded, immediately giving in to the request. He knew about the twin, but not more than that she had existed. It seemed that was far too much of an open wound. "Why did you open the bakery?"

Taako settled down, taking a breath. "Boy detective. The Bureau left a lot of people in the lurch, but he had no family. The Bureau was legally his guardian. Lucretia handed me his papers and basically told me since he was my apprentice, it made the most sense. I complained a lot about it, but the kid is useful. Couldn't go on the road like when I did my show, so best next thing. That's most of my life anyway, bones. Settling for whatever works when shit goes awry. Needed money to send him away to college, even if he was only there for like a year. Doin' the whole parent shtick is easier than everyone makes it seem, homie. If it wasn't for the whole, yanno," he gestured vaguely at Kravitz, "I really wouldn't mind doin' it again." He paused and slapped his free hand over his face. "Wow, this wine must be hitting me harder than I thought for me to have fuckin' said that out loud." Kravitz laughed softly at the warmth flooding Taako's face. "Off my embarrassing shit. What are the trinkets?"

The reaper listed them all out, in order. "Why did you think I'd care you weren't beautiful?" 

The elf hummed, plucking a little at Kravitz's tunic and finishing his glass of wine. "Everyone cares, Krav. You mentioned you had some intuition that you were a bard. Do you have memories or anything like that?" 

A flash of eyes, smiling, hope, heartbreak. Kravitz thought of saying ' _Pass_ ', but he knew he needed to stop shoving it away. Maybe saying it out loud would help him deal with it. "Two memories. I only saw them this morning. A dream about a little girl that looked like me. My curls, my nose, my face. I think I'd been up all night, in the memory, watching over her while she just slept. She was, I don't know, maybe seven? Her eyes were from the woman in my second memory. It was more brief; a beautiful woman flicking my ear while I looked in a mirror. The little girl, she said 'You stayed', like I wouldn't. In the memory, it hurt so much to see her so filled with hope, like I knew something bad was going to happen. That's all I saw. The Raven Queen's note said, ' _Remember they buried her_ '. I think she meant my daughter. Not too long after the memory," he had started to babble. He didn't know he was crying until Taako set down his glass on the coffee table and brushed away his tears. He took Kravitz's glass from him, too. 

"The Raven Queen said I stole everything important to me and I don't think they were really mine either, I mean, my family. I didn't have a family. I had an affair with a woman who hated her piece of shit husband. It was supposed to be fun, a distraction. No one could look at that little girl and not see me except _him_. The gossip was horrible, but he was impotent and too proud." His voice had rose up, furious. Magic crackled in the air, tense and waiting for the right signal to turn to something more dangerous. "It hurt so much to see someone else raising _my_ daughter. _Hurting_ my daughter! Of _course_ I stole her!" He let the words fall out of his mouth, then stopped, gaping. His heart was beating fast.

His heart was beating. 

As if merely noticing it broke the spell, his heart gave a few more weak pumps before going still once again. The magic eased from the air. Taako looked as shocked as Kravitz, putting his hands against the reaper's chest over the now-still organ. "Babe," the elf breathed. 

Death was not completely dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some tough conversations, but good ones. 
> 
> For that very busy certain someone. I hope this cheers you up later. *heart*


	10. Outside the Realm of Destiny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Death didn't really think of it as a cult.

The hands pressing against his chest didn't ease up. Kravitz covered them with his own. He didn't know where the words had come from, the fury, the indignation, the bitter feeling that he hadn't _deserved_ what had happened to him. 

What had happened to him? 

He concentrated on bringing himself back to what was in front of him. A freckled face that looked exhausted and concerned. It suddenly occurred to Kravitz that Taako had not eaten since the light breakfast that morning. 

"Are you okay?" Taako seemed to have finally found his voice, but it was shaky. He suddenly leaned forward, pressing his forehead against Kravitz's shoulder. "You're so _warm_ ," he said disbelievingly. "Like you have a fever."

"I-- No, I'm not alright. Not really, but too much has happened today," his own voice was shaking, a little hoarse from yelling. "I don't know what that was. The shouting. You-- You need to eat. Today has been too long, we need rest. I'm sorry," his voice had gone to a soft plea. His hands stroked through Taako's hair. 

Taako pulled back and gave Kravitz a stern look. "I know that wasn't like you, bones. Don't you apologize like you're not allowed to have some weird magic rant about things you don't remember. You didn't hurt me or scare me, shark teeth, save it for when you really owe me." He gave Kravitz a little poke in the chest. "But you're right, my dude. I need to eat and then we need to get to bed. Do you know how nice it is to know I get to sleep next to you and wake up next to you, too? Keep warm like this and I'll let you hold me all night, homie." Taako flashed him a grin and winked. Kravitz smiled, letting himself be thoroughly distracted from the simply _too much_ he had faced that day. 

The idea of holding the elf all night seemed particularly alluring. He remained on the couch while he heard Taako humming a tune and cooking in the kitchen. The apartment filled with delicious smells while Kravitz drifted in and out of consciousness; his mental exhaustion was catching up to him. The reaper was used to taking decades to process each nugget of information the Raven Queen threw him. 

Gentle prodding from Taako woke the reaper up. Kravitz rose and followed him back to the bedroom. Taako, freshly washed, insisted Kravitz needed a shower if the elf was going to spend all night in close quarters. He'd complied after grabbing new clothes, then rejoined Taako who seemed to have barely stayed away from sleep for the reaper's return. 

"Mm, if I was more awake I'd be more about proving my theory true that you _do_ warm up after a while," he murmured, scooting over to make room for Kravitz. "Killed me not to hold you last night after like a decade of trying to get you in my bed. Was too drunk, though." The reaper smiled and laid down next to him, closing the gap between them. He wrapped his arms around the elf's waist. Kravitz did feel warmer than usual. Normally, touching Taako made has hands feel like they were burning. It wasn't painful, just uncomfortably warm. This felt like when he touched ice or snow.

Taako yawned, making some sweet unguarded noise as he stretched along Kravitz's front. "Least now I figured out how to warm you up, babe," he mumbled. "Your lack of breathing is gonna be really great. On your knees. So good to me, like always. Mm, yeah." Kravitz's face flushed as Taako's eyes closed. "There we go. Furnace." The elf's breath evened out into soft snores. The reaper tucked his face against Taako's neck. 

Dawn caught them both by surprise. There was banging on the door. Taako rolled over, groaning. Kravitz sat up, trying to blink awake. His position on the bed let him peer out of the bedroom doorway. He heard the mechanical click of a key being used before Angus's bespectacled face spilled into the living room beyond. 

It went seven shades of red as he caught Kravitz's eyes, then his bare chest, before disappearing back behind Taako's front door. Kravitz leaned over to shake the elf awake. He glared up at the reaper tiredly, mumbling incoherently. "That was Angus, love. Is it, by any chance, a Monday?" 

"Shit!" Taako was stumbling up and out of the bed in an instant, freeing himself from the sheets. He hurried to the closet, trying to wrench something on besides the long dressing gown he'd worn the night before. Kravitz gave him privacy as he found a tunic and belt to slip on himself. 

"You can come in, Angus," Kravitz called as he sat down at the little table. Taako zipped past him to the kitchen, whipping out bowls and ingredients. He could hear the elf's mantra of curses from his seat. 

Angus entered the room cautiously, then more confidently as the danger of seeing his dad in a scandalous situation appeared to have passed. "Good morning, sirs. I see it didn't matter I was running a bit late," he laughed. He took a seat across from Kravitz at the table. 

"I'm sorry! We did so much yesterday, I forgot to set an alarm last night," Taako called from the kitchen. 

Kravitz watched Taako's graceful movements as he prepared a the macarons. The reaper loved seeing him cook; the elf was so totally within his element. Kravitz leaned on the table, smiling. "I really don't mind, dad," Angus replied. It was the first time he'd heard Angus directly address Taako as 'dad', usually deferring to the more generic 'sir', but this seemed to be a normalcy Kravitz had previously not been privy to. 

A little of the night before drifted back to him. He could hardly believe they'd been dating almost a decade. Everything still felt fresh and new.

"What did you two do yesterday?" Angus stifled a small yawn and leaned on the table. 

"A gentleman never kisses and tells. That's your wise word of the day, homie," Taako smirked. 

Angus made a face of regret, either for asking or for not being more specific _knowing_ who he was speaking to. Kravitz filled the spaces, "We went to the clinic, then the graveyard. The clinic for Taako; the graveyard for me. Well, more specifically, I needed to visit the Raven Queen's temple."

"I mean, I guess if you want to drain some of the mystery out of it. Some fucked up shit happened in that temple, Anglo. Met Kravitz's boss," Taako interrupted. Kravitz assumed he was preemptively avoiding the subject of the clinic. "Get this, moon wizard, dead guy has to find someone magic who follows the Raven Queen or go recruiting. Otherwise fuckin' birds will keep his scythe hostage. Once again: Worst job, shark teeth."

Kravitz sighed deeply. Angus looked intrigued for his part. "What would a follower have to even do? The sects here are dead, pardon the pun, sirs. They demolished two of the temples in the city just last week to make more room for real crypts since grave space is low and there's the big one in the central graveyard." At least that answered what had happened to the two other keystones in the city. No wonder the ravens were so fired up if humanoids hadn't just broken their places of worship, but also dug up their dead. They'd want to rebury before they had no chance. The city hadn't properly petitioned the Raven Queen to close the temples. 

He groaned softly in defeat. If Taako didn't live in the city, he would seriously consider sending down a horde of ravens as punishment. Kravitz had hoped to restore the other two as temporary appeasement. "There's a few initiation rituals I can oversee, of course. It's a secret until it's over, but it can be intense. Some people choose to leave before finishing. Part of following the Raven Queen is trusting her will. Which is often why it's difficult to start a sect from nothing."

Angus seemed to be considering it. "Would you be willing to entertain me as a candidate, sir?" Kravitz heard a metallic thump as Taako shoved something into the oven.

"It depends, Angus," Kravitz said carefully. "Why are you interested? If it's just to help me, that's the wrong reason." He wondered if getting his boyfriend's son involved in ' _cult shit_ ' was crossing some line. 

The detective sat back, seeming to consider what he was saying. "Not that things didn't turn out alright in the end, sir, but I never want another child to lose their family to liches or the undead. Enforcing the natural order is already what I do. I feel the Raven Queen could be an invaluable pool of tips for my pursuits should she choose to answer," his tone was even. This seemed to have been something he'd considered before. 

Kravitz tapped a claw against the table, thinking. Taako emerged from the kitchen, wiping his hands on a well-worn apron. He perched on Kravitz's lap, putting his arms around the reaper's neck to steady himself. "I dunno, Ango. Don't do it for the hot goss, the Raven Queen likes riddles," he sounded concerned. His face turned more stern, "Liches are dangerous. Let dumbass adventurers curb stomp them for you." Kravitz pressed a kiss to the elf's shoulder. Hearing Taako trying to impart parental wisdom was cuter than it should have been. 

"Well, it's a good thing I like riddles, dad," Angus laughed. "Sometimes the adventurers don't come or they don't come back. Can't just leave a lich running wild. Seems good if I can call on the Raven Queen to maybe lend me her personal assistant, sir." 

Taako frowned and shook his head, earrings jangling. He was clearly unhappy with Angus facing creatures that had done so much harm to himself. "You'll get yourself killed, homebrew," he warned. Then, he was back up, going back to the kitchen to start on a proper breakfast while the macarons baked. 

Angus gave Kravitz a smile. The reaper finally replied, "If you can convince Taako, that's all the convincing I need that you take this seriously." He folded both hands on the table. 

"Let him do whatever he wants. He's a grown boy detective, shark teeth," Taako called from the kitchen. 

Kravitz nodded and gestured approvingly. "I can initiate you whenever you have the time. The sooner the better for my purposes. As well as the less time for Taako to dwell on it," he noted. There was a noise of protest by the oven, but Taako didn't say anything. 

The detective beamed, slapping the table in excitement. "Hell yes, homie!" Kravitz tried not to laugh hearing something so _Taako_ come from Angus. "Neat! How about tomorrow afternoon? That's usually when the station lets me off to write." 

"I think that should work." Kravitz looked towards the kitchen, where Taako was making three omelettes with unfertilized eggs and a spread of vegetables. He wasn't sure what else to say, letting the comforting sounds of Taako's bustling fill the silence. 

"So, why did the Raven Queen appear before you?" It was a question of genuine curiosity on Angus's part.

The reaper wondered how much he should say. "The blessing on the temple needed to be redone. She personally appears to approve these rituals at her temples, in some form or another. Though, this time, she had extra to say. Normally, she prefers more abstract methods of communication." He paused. "She was more talkative yesterday. I think she's lonely that one of her favorite ravens died," his voice dropped to a murmur. The pieces pointed to the raven he'd buried in the keystone being special. It had seen Kravitz while he was alive and only died yesterday, which meant it had spent most of its life near the goddess, rarely touched by time. He felt an echo of her loneliness. He knew it was hers by way of their deal, a small impression of emotion he felt whenever he'd successfully managed to figure out his employer's motivations. 

Angus nodded. "Would it be too rude of me to ask what she said, sir?" He was still asking out of curiosity, a puzzle he wanted to solve. This was the boy Taako had raised and who he had trusted implicitly. 

Kravitz dipped his head and parroted the Raven Queen's words and the memory released after the ritual. Taako emerged with omelettes and macarons, setting a plate in front of Kravitz and Angus. Kravitz's plates had twice the amount of food, which appeared to be for both of them as Taako returned to his lap. The omelettes had a small section missing out of each corner. Angus tapped his fork on the table in thought between bites of the food. Kravitz would have to shift Taako around as he tried to eat, which would occasionally garner an eye-roll from Angus. Not that he needed to eat, but Taako had taken his comment about liking his cooking to heart. 

"You two do know there's another chair, right there," Angus grumbled halfheartedly. Kravitz stilled a little, trying to figure out how to be more mindful of how he was interacting with Taako. He didn't want Angus to feel put upon.

Taako replied to Angus's disgruntlement with giving the detective the bird with his free-hand. It made Kravitz snort and Angus laugh which seemed to have been what Taako was going for.

Once breakfast was finished, Angus had questions clearly written across his face. "So all that implies you don't know anything about your deal or even your life, right?"

Taako interrupted before Kravitz could reply, "No mysteries today, moon wizard. Today is Kravitz and Taako's Relaxation Experience." Taako splayed his hands out in the air as some spell displayed his words in sparkling letters. "The last two days have kinda sucked for both of us. You get me, homie?" He dropped his hands to his lap as Angus collected the empty dishes to wash. The spell went out in a display of miniature fireworks. 

"I understand, dad. Some other time, then." Angus smiled at them both reassuringly, then disappeared to the sink. Kravitz tilted Taako's head back to kiss him, glad to not have to immediately start thinking about the things from yesterday. Taako twisted around to deepen the kiss. It was frantic and a bit sloppy. The reason for his rushing became apparent as he broke the kiss when the sounds of dishes being washed ceased, righting himself in Kravitz's lap. 

Angus checked his pockets for his keys. "Well, I need to get to the station. You two have fun today, okay?" 

The elf jumped back to his feet and gave Angus a bear hug. Angus hugged him back and they pulled apart. Taako beamed down at his son proudly. "Have a good day, Detective McDonald. You call me if you run into any liches." 

"I will, I will," Angus chuckled, heading to the door. "I love you, dad, bye. It was nice seeing you again, Kravitz."

Kravitz gave a half-wave. "It was nice to see you, too, Angus."

"I love you, too! Don't fuck up, my dude," Taako called. 

The door closed and Taako wilted into the newly abandoned chair. "I wasn't worried about him fighting liches, but now it's all I can think of," he mumbled.

"I think you said no mysteries today, love," Kravitz soothed, reaching across the table to take one of Taako's hands. "We should extend that to excessive parental worries. Liches aren't common."

The elf's face lit up and he grasped at Kravitz's. "You're right. Today is relaxation day," he hummed and went to a box, pulling out a small glass ball holding a spa. Kravitz laughed as they were pulled into the pocket dimension. 

Death thought everyone could use a bit of a break. He knew that these could sometimes be rare to find when destiny decided trouble someone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're all enjoying it, as always. Still updating daily to twice daily, but that might slow down this week. 
> 
> For the someone who is caught up. You know who you are. With your sneks and tiles.


	11. Breaking the Bonds of Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A proposal and a bath.

They left the spa around noon when it became apparent Taako had a fever. The elf had tried to insist he was fine, but the coughing had not convinced Kravitz. Kravitz had tucked Taako into bed, then gotten soup and potions to help soothe the symptoms. Unfortunately, they hadn't worked well. 

They went to the clinic when Taako had started staining his handkerchiefs crimson. He wasn't nearly as alarmed as Kravitz was about the situation; something about it being his throat and not his lungs. Kravitz had insisted they go, promising to pay whatever the clinic demanded. Taako had reminded him that the empire footed health bills as thank you for saving the world. He'd paid for the taxi instead. 

The healer, whom Taako knew on a first-name basis as Eugene, had been more reassuring, "Don't worry, Mr. Kravitz, this is collateral damage from that nasty virus Taako had last month. His throat is still recovering. It was making good progress, too. We'll give him some more powerful cough medicine, but it may make him sleepy. He can go back home today, but should come back if he begins coughing up anything that seems thick or fleshy." Kravitz nodded, not knowing something had, apparently, badly damaged Taako's throat. The doctor's eyes flickered over his clipboard and he pulled up a stool next to the cot Taako was sprawled across. "I see you have an appointment with Dr. Verorno tomorrow. How are you feeling today?"

Taako pursed his lips into a white line, staring at the ceiling. His hand tugged on Kravitz's as he turned on his side to cover up another deep cough that shook his entire frame. Eugene waited patiently for the coughing fit to pass. "I'm hacking up blood, how do you _think_ I feel, Eugene? Cause the answer is _like shit_ , doc." Kravitz winced slightly at Taako's harshness. 

Eugene's eyebrows climbed into his bangs. "Are you safe to go home right now, Taako?" 

There was a feeble cough bubbling to Taako's lips which he tried to fight back so he could snark. "I'm not--" he started, angry, before the cough took over. Kravitz squeezed his hand in what he hoped was a comforting manner. He was trying to quell Taako's frustration. "I'm not going to go home and slash my wrists, thug! _Fuck_! I already have boyfriend here on babysitting duty, don't you give me shit, too," Taako snapped. Eugene exchanged a look with Kravitz. 

"I see, Taako. Mr. Kravitz, may I speak to you in the hall?" Kravitz glanced at the healer blankly, unsure of what they were supposed to talk about. 

Taako flashed a glare up at Kravitz as he stood. "Don't you dare, _Kravitz_. You ain't put no ring on it, homie. You will _not_ go out there and make decisions about me while I'm _right_ here," he snarled. 

Kravitz tried to bite back some of his own anger, but couldn't keep it down. "Taako, I cannot believe you'd honestly think I'd make decisions _about_ you, _without_ you," he growled and pulled his hand away. Taako still looked angry and he felt his own frustration rising. "Fine," he intoned. He whistled, summoning the altar bird from yesterday without thinking. It landed on his shoulder, appearing through a rift in reality, and he wordlessly handed it a key. The healer startled to his feet and looked between them as the bird disappeared again. 

"I just need to discuss some--" the healer tried to correct himself, but Taako held up a finger. 

The defensiveness was obvious. The elf started gesticulating wildly. "What else are you going to talk about, _huh_? He wants to make some stupid choice about _my_ life with _you_. You don't own me, boyfriend--." Another coughing fit kept him from going into a full-blown rant. Kravitz silently handed Taako another handkerchief, which he used to wipe flecks of blood from around his mouth.

"Do you two need a moment--?" The healer didn't get to finish before the raven reappeared with the ring from his desk drawer, startling the poor doctor again. 

Kravitz took the trinket, then slammed it on the flimsy side table. The table wobbled precariously. "There's your ring. Come on, Eugene." For once, he'd rendered Taako speechless; the elf just gaped at the ring.

They exited to the hallway, the raven still perched on Kravitz's shoulder. Eugene kept glancing at it and then Kravitz nervously. "You ever heard of the Raven Queen? She's not popular among healers," the doctor mumbled, eye flickering to his notes. The raven cawed, as if mildly offended. "I wanted to give you Dr. Verorno's emergency frequency and ask you if you felt capable of keeping an eye on Taako. We do these things in private so we can have an honest answer from loved ones." Eugene laughed awkwardly. "First time that's ended with a proposal."

The healer handed over a slip of paper with the frequency. Kravitz took it, sighing. "Sometimes, I'm not sure what to do with his sadness, but I can keep my eyes on him," Kravitz replied, nodding. The anger and frustration had drained from him when he'd slammed the ring down. "It wasn't really a proposal, either."

Eugene nodded slowly. "Good. Marriage requires at least two adults. Well, I'll go prepare the medicine and you can both be on your way." The raven chortled in agreement with the healer. Kravitz felt his cheeks heat in shame as he gave some incoherent acknowledgement. 

The healer turned on heel and the reaper returned to Taako's side. Taako was spinning the ring in his hands. Kravitz pet the altar bird's head and whispered his thanks. It disappeared back into a rift to wherever it'd come from. He sat on the stool before speaking, "Taako, that was childish of me." Taako looked up from the ring, giving Kravitz his attention. "If-- No, _when_ I propose, I want it to be something more memorable than as a quip in an argument, love." The elf slipped the trinket onto his ring finger; it was slightly too large. "He just gave me your doctor's emergency frequency and asked me if I was really okay keeping an eye on you. That's all. No decisions, nothing without you, Taako." 

"Sorry, I sort of lost my cool. That was shitty," Taako murmured. The elf hesitated, glancing between Kravitz and the ring. "Honestly, I'm sort of glad you weren't serious. I _really_ don't think I'm ready to get married. Especially not when I lash out at my boyfriend for standing up when a doctor asks to speak to him." He paused for another coughing fit. Kravitz took his hand and rubbed light circles over the knuckles with his thumb. "Ring looks really good on me. I mean, everything looks good on me, but especially this. It's a good ring, shark teeth." He took his hand back and started to take off the ring, but Kravitz stopped him.

Kravitz smiled, turning Taako's hand back and forth as if admiring it. "It does look fetching. Why not let it be a promise ring until we're both more ready for that commitment?" The way Taako's face lit up made him feel just slightly warmer than usual. Even if it was brief as Taako turned his head for another coughing fit. 

The healer re-entered the room with Taako's cough medicine. Taako took a dose before they left the clinic, piling back into the taxi. He was drooping before they'd made the short ride to the bakery. At least the coughs had subsided along the way. Kravitz helped the elf back inside and up the stairs, but he was still awake enough to ask for a bath.

Taako's voice had the edge of a plea as he spoke, "You'll have to sit with me being all naked and stuff. Sorry, Krav, I've just been coughing half the day so I feel sweaty and gross. When I stopped venturing, swore to myself I'd never neglect personal hygiene again." He sighed deeply. "But might fall asleep in the tub." Kravitz had, at this point in their relationship, never seen Taako naked. 

Well, as the enforcer of death, he was quite aware that all things _did_ come to an end. He scratched the side of his nose awkwardly. "I'll go find a bucket to sit on," he mumbled, hurrying to one of Taako's side rooms to find one. He met Taako back in the bathroom, where the elf had already stripped out of most of his clothes and was running the water. Kravitz upturned the bucket and sat down next to the porcelain tub. 

Taako leaned down and pecked him on the cheek. "Seriously, thanks, babe." He kept his eyes averted, face fully warm, until he heard the slosh of water from Taako climbing in the bath. Taako reached over and took his hands, smiling when he finally turned to look. There was enough bubbles to almost entirely cover up his boyfriend. The elf had piled his hair high to keep it out of the water while he soaked. "Hey, shark teeth, can I ask you a question?" 

The reaper smirked, trying to ease a bit of the tension he felt. There was really no need to be embarrassed. "You can always ask, I may not answer."

He was rewarded with an eye roll and a bubble of laughter. "Hah. Almost thought you might give me something original, shaken spear. Look, I sort of," he stopped, grimacing a little. "Now that I know you don't really remember your past, I wanted to ask about the sex thing." 

Kravitz looked anywhere but at Taako. Well, there was a reason to be embarrassed. He cleared his throat nervously. "Honestly, I-- That's the problem. I don't remember." 

Taako blinked slowly. "You don't remember why you don't like sex?"

This was going to be harder than Kravitz would have liked. He dipped his head. "I can vaguely recall sex being pleasant, actually." Kravitz winced, that felt like an incredibly ridiculous thing to say. 

"Wait--." The reaper covered his cheeks with both hands. "You mean you don't remember how sex works?" Taako sounded incredulous. It was going from bad to worse, _rapidly_. Kravitz glared at the tiles like it was, somehow, their fault. "You mean in the like, hundreds of years you've been alive-- undeath'd-- whatever, you never asked where babies come from? Homie, _please_!" He looked up in time to see Taako slap a hand over his mouth to stop from laughing. 

At least it was in the open, now. "Well, it wasn't particularly important until I met you," he replied defensively, but his lips were starting to twitch. Now that he thought about it, he really should have invested in a book. The idea of the Raven Queen knowing he had such a thing, and she would if it was on the astral plane, quickly destroyed that line of thinking.

That just made Taako laugh harder, giggles and snorts slipping out from between his fingers until he couldn't resist digging at Kravitz. " _Ohhh_ ," he hooted. "Someone _like_ likes me. Wanna hold my hand to middle school, boyfriend?" Taako held out his hand while fluttering his eyelashes and fanning himself until he devolved into more laughter, causing the water to splash. 

Kravitz covered his grin with a hand, waiting for Taako to calm down. "Okay, okay. So, now that you know, what are you going to do about it?" Kravitz tried to level his voice as a challenge. 

There was a rather devious gleam in Taako's eyes. He grabbed Kravitz's hand and tugged him forward enough to bring him to his knees next to the tub. He peered down at Kravitz seriously. "What do you _want_ me to do about it, babe?" There was something wicked in the elf's smirk that made the reaper re-think a lot of life choices.

Mostly ones concerning not coming clean earlier. He leaned in closer, pressing their noses together and not caring how wet he was getting in the process. He wound his hands through the elf's hair. Taako's eyes flicked down to his lips. "I don't care. I just want _you_." His eyes were back on Kravitz's as a blush spread across the elf's face. "I don't want to remember anything but _you_. Your lips." He brushed his lips against Taako's, not quite kissing. "Your touch." He slid a hand down Taako's neck, to his shoulder and skimmed it along his forearm. "Your hands." He interlaced their fingers. "Everything. _You_." Kravitz wanted Taako to give him more than a distraction. He wanted to _be_ more than a distraction.

That feeling was both foreign and entirely too familiar.

"Babe," Taako breathed. "That's sickeningly sweet, but it's been a _while_ so I guess it's doin' it for me, handsome. I don't know if I'm gagging for your cock or in general." Kravitz laughed in surprise and kissed him on the cheek, pulling away.

He grimaced at his wet sleeves and pulled off his tunic. Taako bit his lip, his eyes roving over the exposed skin. "Not tonight, of course. You're sick." 

There was a mutter of something like "fuckin' cocktease" under Taako's breath. The elf slunk farther down in the tub, clasping the sides.

Besides Taako's pouting, the rest of the bath was without incident. Kravitz helped Taako wash his hair, then helped him out of the tub as the warmth had started to get to him. He'd tucked Taako in and had taken a quick shower to warm up. This time, the water felt almost scalding even though he knew it was the same temperature Taako had used for his bath. 

This time, Taako hadn't managed to stay awake. He had left an open spot in the bed for Kravitz to climb in.

As Death fit himself alongside his lover, he wondered how long he'd get to be warm and alive. The thought struck him that his mind had, so far, not proven itself to be reliable in retaining his living memories. He held his lover tighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did mention the rating will increase a lot before this fic is over.
> 
> Griffin has graved me with an extra week of not getting wrecked. 
> 
> For that certain someone. _Yes_ , there will be twitchy elf ears. It was requested. By _someone who shalt not be named_ (Shout out to Voldemort, my number one fan).


	12. Changing the Ties of Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Appointments are made; memories are visited.

The morning luckily was not quite so sudden as the previous one. Kravitz drifted awake slowly, Taako's freckled face close to his, watching him wake. 

"Morning, love," he murmured, leaning in to give him a chaste kiss on the lips. 

Taako sighed contentedly as he pulled back, sitting up and stretching. "You sleep like a dead man, handsome," he laughed, peering down at Kravitz. 

The reaper rolled over, drinking in the sight of Taako haloed by the morning light. "How long have you been awake?" 

Taako tugged the sheets down to expose more of Kravitz's bare torso. "Woke up around dawn, coughing. Took more medicine and got to soak in you being all warm and cuddly. Only woke up again a few minutes ago. Can't believe how much of a sap you are even asleep, shark teeth." He drew his knees up, bunching the dressing gown around his waist, and seemed to be enjoying the sights as much as Kravitz. "Do we really need to leave the bed today? After last night, I have a lot of _fantastic_ ideas, homie. Lots of things involving lips and touching and hands," he let his voice drop a little lower, smirking. "Don't fret you can't remember shit about sex, my man. Once I'm done with you, you won't remember nothin' but how to say my name anyway." Kravitz couldn't resist sitting up and pulling Taako closer, shifting so he was kneeling on the bed. 

Kravitz let his hands drop to Taako's hips while the elf draped his arms over Kravitz's shoulders. "Are you sure that's how things will go? Inexperience does not always mean incompetence." 

" _Oh_ , scary," Taako taunted. "What are you gonna do, home boy? Kiss me under the cherry blossoms? Invite me to dinner to meet your parents?" Taako drew an arm back and tugged Kravitz's earring. The reaper jerked slightly at the jolt and then eyed the elf. Kravitz's ears weren't nearly as long or pointed as Taako's, but they were a glaring weak point he'd ignored. Mostly that it had felt natural to bite at them, but that would certainly have led to a permanent injury. 

Kravitz smirked and brushed his fingers along the tip of Taako's ear. Taako made a noise in half pleasure and half protest, ear twitching as if to avoid the touch. Steeling his resolve, he ran his other hand under the dressing gown and to Taako's side. He let his hand explore along Taako's bare hips and stomach as he continued feather-light touches along the long point of the elf's ears, not deterred by the twitches. Some long-forgotten muscle memory seemed to have an idea of what do with his hands, how to make a body sing for him. Taako bit his lip, breath hitching, and leaned his head on Kravitz's shoulder. "I have made a mistake," he hissed. 

The reaper tangled the hand by Taako's ear in the elf's hair, pulling his head back. He kissed him roughly, tasting the tang of blood as he ended the kiss with softer, sweeter ones. Taako's tongue swiped at the nick along his lip after he'd pulled away to breath. Kravitz felt it stir something both familiar and foreign, so he moved off the bed quickly. Now did not seem to be the time for that. "You also made an appointment, if I recall." 

Taako grumbled and buried himself under the blankets. "Don't wanna," he whined. 

Kravitz rolled his eyes, grabbing a tunic and a new pair of legging to put on. He slipped into the bathroom to change. "I'll go down to see what Mara has baked for today," he called as he headed to the door.

"Get me the blueberry scones and garlic biscuits," Taako called back from the bedroom. It never failed to impress Kravitz how little Taako seemed to interact with the bakery, yet he always held a firm understanding of everything that went on.

Mara was bustling around the kitchen, checking on the other bakers and directing the icing of a wedding cake. Taako's workstation sat at the bottom of the stairs, littered with half-formed recipes and client notes. The design for the cake being worked on was pinned to the wall, where a baker was checking they had the right amount of sugar flowers. Kravitz peeked at the sketches of the cake and recognized Taako's hand in the drawing. A glance at the calendar showed that the clinic wasn't the only appointment Taako had despite his nonchalance this morning. 

The gnome took notice of Kravitz and wove her way over to the workstation. "Where's that lazy elf of yours, Kravitz? We have a client in an hour and I can't find his final sketches. With the Renjur wedding today, we're swamped. I don't have time to pick through his rat's nest of a desk. If it's not done, he needs to get it there," she groused, finger wagging at Kravitz's stomach. 

Kravitz smiled sheepishly. "He's on his way down, just getting breakfast to motivate him," he raised his voice loud enough to be heard of the kitchen. 

She shook her head. "Remind him about Renjur and Varan." A crash on the other side of the bakery had her letting out a frustrated huff. "Could use an extra hand just keeping an eye on the new bakers, too." Kravitz nodded and she took off to bring wrath down on some poor employee. He nicked a couple of biscuits and scones as requested, then returned upstairs. 

Concentration was written all over Taako's face as he leaned over the table, colored charcoal scattered around the space he'd made. The ring glinted on his hand under the light he'd summoned. Kravitz pecked Taako's cheek and set the breakfast nearby. "Mara told me to remind you about Renjur and Varan," he noted as he sat across from the elf. 

Taako swore, switching the sketches over. "Thought it was Enran today. Did they get moved around?" He smudged a bright blue across his temple and into his hair as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Kravitz had always thought the colors in Taako's hair were purposeful accessories, but it seemed they were a consequence of work. He dusted his hands onto a handkerchief then chewed on a scone, sitting back. "I guess you wouldn't know if the schedule was changed. How did it look down there?"

"Busy," Kravitz replied. "Mara said she could use help overseeing the new bakers." 

A green charcoal rolled off the table and Taako leaned down to retrieve it, pulling one knee to his chest when he straightened. "You ever wanted to be a baker, bones?" Kravitz snorted. "Didn't think it'd be that easy. Bee tee dubs, Angus called while you were downstairs and said he'd meet you at the graveyard at noon." Taako's eyes dipped down and Kravitz waited for the elf to say what was on his mind. "Could you take me to the clinic first? I can get there on my own, but I think I might not stay if I wait alone," he mumbled. 

Kravitz smiled and took Taako's hand, rubbing a thumb over the ring. "Of course, love." Taako returned his smile, then seemed to remember his work and took his hand back, returning to the sketches. Kravitz watched for a while, then picked up a stick of black charcoal. "Do you mind if I borrow this? I need to do some preparation for this afternoon." 

Taako glanced up, nodding. "Knock yourself out, shark teeth," he agreed. 

"That'd be hard with charcoal," he laughed. Taako made a face at his terrible joke, but his attention went back to the parchment. Kravitz made his way to the more open space around the couch, drawing across the backs of his hands with the charcoal so he didn't ruin Taako's carpet. They were crude, but they got the job done. He sat on the floor and spread his hands out before him, dipping his head in prayer. His eyes closed in concentration. He prayed merely for the initiation to go well and for the Raven Queen to grant the detective her favor.

The door opened and closed somewhat distantly as he prayed. When Taako had gone, he felt the Raven Queen's attention on him. It was gone just as quickly. He opened his eyes to find a skull staring back at him. 

That was unusual, even for the Raven Queen. He wished he had has his books of prophecy to try to decipher what it meant. As Kravitz examined the skull, he only found a few striking things about it. The markings on it were a bit more obvious, but he was trying not to take them at face value. 

While Kravitz was not a Raven Knight, he had occasionally been forced to interact with them. The reaper did not enjoy cutting down the hordes of undead or cults of Orcus; that was a task for the elite Sorrowborn or Shadar-kai. They were, frankly, not the sort of people you invited to poker night. Kravitz avoided them unless absolutely necessary to his duties, such as dealing with a petition from a city or town. Occasionally, the knights would take back prizes to decorate their fortresses. Which usually looked remarkably like the skull in front of him. He knew that the Order's numbers were down after the calamity, some having succumb to the Hunger, but he hoped she didn't expect him to pitch the Order of the Raven Queen Knights to Angus McDonald of all people. 

The corners of his mouth twitched as he thought of the detective's chipper attitude buried under the grim armor usually worn by the Raven Knights. He picked the skull up and stood, unsure of where to put it. He set it on the coffee table until he could ask Taako what to do with it. 

Now that he had a moment of peace, he took the time to consider the memory from the raven in the temple. It seemed that whatever respect he'd earned from the ravens came from song. The altar bird from yesterday, too, had come when he'd whistled for it, without thinking. He had noticed the haughty ravens paid him more mind when he whistled to get their attention. Perhaps, then, there was something in his voice that they had recalled from his supposed 'heist'. Kravitz sat on the couch and thought of the altar bird, whistling a soft tune. It appeared in a flash, stepping through a rift and looking up at the reaper curiously. 

Well, that had certainly been easier to prove than he'd thought it would be. Perhaps, though, this bird was special or had taken some special interest in him. He gently pet the bird on its head, murmuring to it, "Did you pledge loyalty to me?" The raven cawed and dipped its head in agreement. "Why?" It paused, then mimicked back the tune Kravitz had used to summon it. "Your loyalty should be worth more than a whistle. What would the Queen think of you defecting to a servant?" It just looked at Kravitz blankly, then sang a snippet of the Orpheus song. "No need to get mean," he mumbled. He rose from his seat and grabbed one of the biscuits Taako had left untouched, slipping them to the raven who disappeared back where it came from. He sat on the couch again, claw tapping on the skull. 

The vision had been meant to show his songs held, at least, some power. Enough that the Raven Queen felt forced to make a deal with him as ransom for her ravens. Only those seeking death or immortality sought favor with the Raven Queen. Immortality was well within her grasp and that seemed to be what he had. Yet, she'd said this was a poor imitation of what he wanted. She could have made him into a Sorrowborn knight if that was all he sought. The Queen would have despised him for it, too, as she did not take kindly to threats. The way she treated Kravitz was almost motherly. 

So, Kravitz had sought death. His fate had been stolen from him in a way that had rendered even the Raven Queen useless in bringing his life to an end. His claw stopped tapping as he stared down at the skull. In all his years, Kravitz had heard of nothing that could grant an immortality of that power. Even the gods rose and fell; the Raven Queen having killed her own predecessor to the realm of the dead. If it existed, it would have been coveted by devils and Kravitz would have been more troubled by those seeking it over the centuries. 

He brushed the tip of his finger over the markings on the skull. Kravitz considered that he may have lived under this affliction in obscurity. If immortality wasn't a fate he'd chosen, then maybe even the one who stole death from him had not known what they'd done. 

That bitter feeling that what had happened clawed at the back of his throat again. He gripped the side of the table until it and the fury accompanying it had passed. They felt like alien emotions that almost didn't belong to him, but he knew they did. The same way he knew how to touch Taako this morning. Bodies were another instrument he'd been adept at playing when he was alive, apparently. He rubbed his temple at the headache that thought brought on. 

Kravitz thought over the clues he had. One, he'd been a bard good enough to enthrall ravens. Two, he'd been promiscuous enough that an affair with a married woman hadn't much bothered him. That usually spelled someone worth at least enough gossip to be a footnote in an ancient tome. He'd have to ask Angus or Taako for help in searching.

The details of his death seemed less straightforward the more he looked. He only knew it had ended with torment. That was where the bitterness and fury came from; Kravitz had been made to suffer well beyond whatever crimes he had committed. Perhaps in the tower that he'd enchanted the ravens at. There was a brief memory, the flash of a small body as it lay broken on the rocks below, eyes like the ocean staring sightless at the open sky. Kravitz covered his face in the horror of it. Just out of reach from her hand was the music book in his office, fluttering and trapped against a rock. 

He pressed his hands hard against his face, trying to fight past the dizziness, the pain. He could faintly hear a woman screaming, hands grabbing the tiny body to pull it from the rocks. Kravitz felt the build of fury, twisting to look the murderer in the eyes, to kill him. The familiar gesture of a spell. Blackness. 

He opened his eyes and took a deep breath, staring at Taako's pink carpet, his heart was hammering and he didn't feel like he could breath. He didn't remember when Taako had gotten there, but he was by Kravitz's side, holding his hands. 

"Deep breaths, babe, come on, deep breaths," Taako murmured. "In, out." Kravitz did as he was instructed until his breath evened and his heart was still once again. Taako took the reaper's face in his hand and looked up worriedly. "What happened while I was gone?"

Kravitz tried to make sense of what had happened. His brain bounced around his daughter, dead against the rocks, not wanting to dwell on it. "It's--," he paused and took another deep breath. 

"If it's too much you don't have to," Taako added quickly. "Sometimes talking helped Angus, but sometimes it just made him have another panic attack." Kravitz nodded, not knowing what else to do, and focused on the soothing circles the elf was rubbing in his hands. Taako was just barely keeping his own alarm in check. 

"No, no. I should tell you," he murmured. "I was thinking of what the Raven Queen told me. Another memory when I thought of the tower, from the temple. Someone killed my daughter. Pushed her off the tower right in front of me. She had my music book. I think it was hers. I think she wanted to be an orchestra conductor, Taako." He closed his eyes and tried to stay in the moment. 

The circles stopped. "Oh," Taako sounded as heartbroken as Kravitz felt. 

"She wanted to be like me," Kravitz sobbed. Taako hugged him tightly as he cried. 

For once, Death felt as if the grief was entirely his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sad sorry. 
> 
> Twitchy elves for twitchy target audiences. Hope you're all enjoying it!


	13. A Dream of Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Had Kravitz ever asked for anything?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a shorter chapter, but it fits as a nice component.

Kravitz had stayed like that for a while, crying quietly against Taako's chest. The elf had joined him on the couch to hold him more comfortably. Eventually, Taako's nonsense murmurs calmed him down, but he still felt the grief like a heavy weight in his chest. "Sorry," he mumbled, kissing Taako's shoulder. 

"What did I say before?" Taako's voice was soothing. "Don't apologize for just having emotions." Kravitz swallowed back the lump in his throat, not wanting to cry again. 

"Okay," he agreed. "What time is it?" 

Taako worried his bottom lip, eyes darting to the window. "Almost noon. I can call the doctor and say there was an emergency. Angus would understand, too."

Kravitz shook his head and pulled back. "No, I'll be alright, love. I don't think-- I never grieved her when I was alive. This will take longer than an afternoon. Maybe longer than a lifetime. In the mean time, we must go on." He'd reverted partially to old tenants of the Raven Queen, even if his heart was not quite there. 

In truth, Kravitz wanted to hunt down a man probably long dead and use the man's own nails to peel every inch of skin off of him. He immediately winced at that thought. Torture was not something he took pleasure in. Something of the horror and revulsion must have shown on his face; Taako was looking down at him doubtfully. 

"If you're sure, babe," he said hesitantly. He stood up and used a handkerchief he produced from his pocket to brush away the tear stains across Kravitz's cheeks. 

They made their way downstairs and out of the busy kitchen, holding hands along the way to the clinic. Kravitz's thumb worried the ring on Taako's hand while they walked. It was a nice day, cloudless and sunny. Taako filled the small space between them with chatter about the cake he'd finished the morning. 

"Have to feed two hundred dwarves. That's just too many dwarves, homie," he complained. "Have to get out the edible gold dust. If they weren't friends with Carey and Killian, I'd tell them 'no'." He sighed deeply and gestured with his freehand. "Speaking of Carey and Killian, did I tell you they're finally going to settle down? Getting all domestic and shit. Might need to start thinking of _their_ wedding cake."

Kravitz shook his head. "No. I thought they were still adventuring like-- well, like the old days," he'd almost said ' _like Magnus_ ', but had stopped himself. "From what you've told me, they don't seem like the settling down type." 

"Carey was really upset they couldn't make it to the city for the funeral," Taako's tone turned momentarily sad before it perked back up. "I guess they had a long talk. Killian asked me to help them look for houses, because they think I have the best taste in the city. Which is spot on, of course, lemme tell you," he grinned. 

The reaper shook his head. "I'll need to ask them not to boast your ego for you when they get here," he teased. 

"Are you talking to _me_ , boyfriend? 'Cause I think you're mistaken with someone who doesn't deserve every ounce of praise," Taako crowed, winking at Kravitz who just snorted in response. They continued this way along the city's main street to the clinic. The wait wasn't too long, Taako murmuring about meeting him back home when Kravitz had finished in the graveyard. 

Angus was already waiting by the gates to the cemetery when Kravitz finally got there. "Kravitz," he greeted. 

Kravitz gave a small wave and started in towards the crypt at the heart of the sea of gravestones. "Hello Angus. My apologies for being late, I took Taako to the clinic first.". 

The detective bobbed his head and waved a journal he was holding vaguely. "I kept myself busy, don't worry about it." He whistled at the crypt as they approached it. "You said some of the foundations were broken, but even the lamp is missing. When was the last time this place did a funeral?" 

The reaper sighed and gestured at the space where the lamp should have been hanging. "According to the Raven Queen, I was still alive." Angus gave another low, impressed whistle. "Watch carefully," he warned, then tapped where the symbols should have been carved into the door. "Skull three times, the raven feathers on either side, the the raven head in the center. _Never_ the sign of winter. Regular people need only touch the raven head. Those touched by a god's favor must follow the sequence I told you and ask for her blessing to enter. Make sense?" He glanced at Angus who nodded, keenly interested. 

The detective's eyes narrowed, looking at the closed slab. "Why didn't the door open?" 

Kravitz laughed and touched where the sign of winter would have been. "I never have to ask her permission. You could say this is more my domain than hers. Don't tell anyone else, kind of degrades moral, but I'm usually the one who answers prayers from the rank and file followers. The Raven Queen has more important business in Shadowfell. The girl and I take care of things in the material plane." He could practically feel curiosity rolling off the detective as Kravitz whistled and the torches flared to life. 

They descended into the dimly lit temple, Angus pausing at the base of the staircase to admire the vaulted ceilings. "The shadows are part of the paintings, aren't they? It looks alive," he murmured in awe, his voice echoing in the cavernous room. "Oh. Whose the girl you mentioned, sir?" 

A lot of words flashed across Kravitz's thoughts, but he decided they weren't entirely appropriate to tell a mortal about his co-worker. "She's the one who deals with plagues and war." 

"Oh!" Angus clapped his hands together. It echoed back like the rumble of an earthquake. " _There goes the grey lady; to burn the raven's light through the long night. Tomorrow she will bring a great wail to widows and orphans, but both is she and holds no pity for their cries. There goes the grey lady; beckoning a horde of dead beyond the Veil. Tomorrow she will bring kindling to the pyres and crypts, but she has cried the ocean in her eyes and has no tears to quench their hunger. There goes the grey lady. Tomorrow you will die._ " Kravitz gave the detective a bemused expression and crossed his arms, pausing by the door to the right of the central altar. 

It wouldn't do to bemoan how Kravitz did all the work and she got the nursery rhymes. "Yeah, the Grey Lady. Her name is Laren."

Angus tilted his head curiously as they made their way towards the back of the temple. "You sound like you don't much care for her, sir, if you don't mind me saying." 

The reaper couldn't help sounding incredulous, " _Me_?" He remembered when she'd join the rank and file. She'd glared at him all through introductions. That seemed to be a permanent fixture according to later interactions. "Laren doesn't like _me_. At least I don't have to deal with plagues and war anymore," he snorted dismissively. "She takes my tea without asking." It was a petty complaint, but it wasn't often he had an opportunity to complain. 

There was a quickly-covered laugh at his side. "Somehow, I was expecting the servants of death to have less normal interactions," Angus snorted. 

Kravitz opened a door. "We are still, more or less, people. Besides, we don't really interact. I think she's only spoken to me once. She's on the material plane even more than I am. Wait here for a moment." Angus nodded and Kravitz went into the room, shutting it behind himself. He pulled the correct switches and handles, pulling the _Liber Mortuorum_ from its hiding place. The heavy tome was untouched by time, looking as fresh as when it'd been put in. Considering the size of the flock once here, he wasn't surprised to see the gild of silver and gems on the cover. He closed the hole in the ceiling once again and returned to Angus outside. "This is the _Liber Mortuorum_. If you become a priest, you'll learn how to read it all, but for now you'll only need to know some of it. Those not part of the clergy who take it are killed by ravens. Those who try to decipher it without permission are killed by ravens. Those clergy who dare speak its secrets to outsiders are killed by ravens. The Raven Queen has no sympathy for curiosity, Angus. Do you understand?" Angus's eyes gleamed with the very emotion Kravitz had tried to quell, but he nodded.

The reaper gave a sigh and led them to the initiation room, setting the book on the podium in the center and gestured for Angus to sit. He picked his way around the skulls looking only mildly disturbed, which was a good sign. It had been a while since Kravitz had to do this, though. "Do you swear to keep everything that will happen here in secret?"

Angus hesitated, "Yes, I swear."

"Do you understand that once we begin, you will not be allowed to leave?" 

This made the detective pause, seriously considering his response. "Yes, I understand."

"Are you willing to die?" This was the part, in Kravitz's experience, when initiates chose to leave. 

That took Angus aback. He looked at his hands. "I don't want to, but yes. Yes, I'm willing to die." 

Kravitz nodded. "When we start, the Raven Queen will sit at your back. You must not turn to look at her. It is a sign that you trust her. She will touch you and it will be cold as ice. You must not flinch. It is a sign that you trust her. She will kill you. You must not fight her. It is a sign that you trust her." 

Angus laughed in surprise. When Kravitz just gazed down at the man, the color drained from the detective's face. "You're serious, sir?" He took a deep breath. 

"We've not yet begun, Angus," Kravitz indicated the door with one gaunt finger. "If you break any of these after we begin, you _will_ die." Angus nodded, glancing at the door, then back to Kravitz. The reaper saw the exact moment when Angus's curiosity won over his fear.

The door shut with a slam and disappeared, becoming part of the wall. Angus started in surprise. There was no leaving until it was over. Kravitz opened the tome to the appropriate page, not needing notes to read the ciphers and puzzles spilled across its pages. He'd had years to study the thing. The Raven Queen took her seat behind the detective. Kravitz didn't look up as he read; someone's death, no matter how brief, was a personal endeavor. He heard a small gasp, a little cry as Angus's heart stopped. There was a tug on his own heart as the Raven Queen took her charge behind the curtain, but not the Veil.

He began the chant mechanically. Angus excelled at everything he touched, so Kravitz didn't think the detective would take long in the astral plane. The reaper had been initiated, but it had been quite a different experience for someone who lived in the Eternal Stockade. His conversation with the Raven Queen had been one about balance within the world and those who would tip it for personal gain. Now that he had a few clues about their deal, Kravitz suspected it had been about his own immortality.

He started the chant over again. At this point, most initiates who were going to return did return. The more curious ones tended to linger a little longer, taking advantage of the rare opportunity to ask the goddess questions. All her answers required effort to understand, as much a puzzle as her places of worship.

A bead of sweat rolled down his temples as he started at the top of the chant for the third time. Angus was curious, but surely not _that_ curious. 

He started on the fourth. By this time, most priests would give up on any initiates who had failed to return. 

Then, the fifth. Taako would never forgive him. The sixth. Maybe the skull had been a warning not to proceed. The seventh. Surely, Angus had been through worse. He began the eighth. His mind returned to the weight in his chest. He almost stumbled over a word on the ninth, hands shaking. Taako would not survive the loss of a child. Kravitz did not begin the tenth; instead, he did the unthinkable and looked up. 

His own face stared back at him calmly. He jerked back, his heart thumping. It was the Raven Queen wearing his visage. Angus was slumped before her feet, eyes open and dead. He hadn't fought. Kravitz recognized the pose, the detective had earned her trust, why had she ended him? Kravitz did not understand. He licked his lips before he spoke, "My Lady, he will be a good disciple." 

" _You have never taken offense in my choices for the clergy in the past, Macallister. Still, this is not my choice, but yours._ " It was unsettling to hear her echoing, barely-there cacophony of whispers come from his own mouth. More unsettling that she spoke his first name. She'd only reminded him she held power over his True Name a handful of times; all other knowledge of it had been destroyed like her own.

"I'm not sure what you mean. Please, my Lady, if I must beg, I will. This will destroy Taako," he didn't disguise the plea. "It will destroy _me_." 

She regarded him coolly. " _Isn't that what you asked for?_ " Kravitz stared at her blankly then shook his head. He bit back the question that bubbled to his lips, dropping to his knees and pressing his forehead against the floor. The room pressed its silence down on his shaking form. Kravitz kept the panic at bay by murmuring one of the prayers for her mercy. His form flickered and ice swirled across the tiles under him.

Angus's gasp of breath broke the reaper's vigil. He scrambled to his feet as Angus rolled over onto his back, wheezing. "With how much dad died, I didn't think it'd be _that_ bad." 

Kravitz held himself upright with the podium. No, replaying the conversation was for later. "I--," he took a deep breath. "I will now teach you how to read the first cipher." There was no need for Angus to know the Raven Queen had almost taken him past the Veil.

Angus sat up, trying to coax his hair into some kind of order. "Oh, yeah." 

Death's mind wandered to the question he'd wanted to shout in his queen's face; to demand, finally, a clear answer: Had he asked to destroy himself or his lover? He knew it would have been useless, for Death had already laid out her riddle for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates in one day! Woo. 
> 
> As always, to impress that person who has to read my silly rambles and get all the story spoilers. ;p
> 
> Fun fact: A lot of the stuff featured in this chapter is canon D&D Raven Queen lore.


	14. Of Freedom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Thief mistaken for a thief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, a shorter chapter.

Angus asked for a reprieve from the crypt. "Who knew dying could make you so tired?" He had smirked like Taako. Kravitz had parted ways with him at the cemetery gates. Dusk was settling across the city, shadows chasing the streets empty.

Kravitz made his way the other side of the city, to one of the other graveyards. He didn't want to go home while the Raven Queen's riddle plagued him. He found the shattered crypt, pushing his way past the construction at the entrance. Below had been cleared of most of the bones, stacked and marked for reburial to one side, likely in the larger temple. Those buried in temples had been clergy, so the most respectful thing to do was donate them to another temple.

The reaper found the cache for the _Liber Mortuorum_ and took it from its hiding place, buried beneath decades of vines. A flock of ravens had congregated by the time he made his way out.

They followed him to the next temple, which had its lamp on. Even if the keystone was destroyed, funerals would carry on until the central temple was restored. Kravitz left the ravens to guard the tome he already had, then pressed the mark of winter and slipped inside.

A dwarf priest was reading from the _Liber Mortuorum_ he had open on a podium behind the altar. It appeared Angus had been partially wrong. On the altar lay the body of an old man. The temple was not as grand as the central one, but it was enough for the few attendees. Kravitz sat in the back to watch and wait.

The priest ended the rites with sing-song inflections, then closed the book. The family shuffled back up the uneven steps while the priest eyed Kravitz. "How long until they take their last?" He held up placating hands before Kravitz could say anything. "I do not mean to be crass, my friend, but I have yet to eat."

Kravitz rose, shaking his head. "I am a traveling priest sent to restore the central temple and the Raven Queen's worship in the city's heart. The collection of the unused ciphers needs done," he held out his hand to shake.

Distrust and speculation spread across the priest's face. Kravitz dropped his hand back to his side. "By whom?" He put both hands on top of the book protectively. "Those without permission seekin' the book of the dead find Death, instead, stranger." Kravitz could see now a little gilding and gem work done on the cover. The priest thought he was a common thief. He glanced down at his clothes, slightly dirty and torn from both the temples he'd been in during the day.

Well, he'd probably be distrustful, too. "The Temple of the Fates," he replied. That was the largest temple of the Raven Queen's, even shared with Istus and Avandra.

"Funny they'd send two priests and not tell either one," the dwarf growled. "And I don't mean funny haha. What's your name, _disciple_?"

Kravitz thought of retreating, but he had wanted to make sure both were safely tucked away before construction truly started. "I am Elder Alli, of one and three quarters. I have just come from collecting the other temple's ciphers, so pardon my appearance." It was one of the times when he wished they had a secret handshake or something so he could merely demonstrate. Here in the central area of the temple, he couldn't risk someone overhearing something secret if he went that route. "We could go to the back to speak, if you wish."

The priest wavered, then nodded and headed towards the left door. He opened it to the temporary and permanent housing each temple held. The door closed behind them. "Why'd you lie about the temple if you mean no harm, Elder?"

The reaper hesitated. "The Raven Queen sent me." The priest snorted.

"She hasn't spoken to anyone in years. Can call up Pan on your stone of farspeech, but the Raven Queen doesn't send people on missions, Alli," the dwarf grumbled. Kravitz didn't feel that was fair. Composing a response to every petition would have been difficult. He felt like it was enough that he made sure things were done when the clergy asked. Sticklers for rules, they rarely asked something Kravitz said no to. Besides, he did send the knights on missions.

It may have been a few decades or centuries since Kravitz had actually spoken to a follower of the Raven Queen. The reaper wracked his brain for what to say. His stone of farspeech buzzed, "Babe, it's getting late. Are you two okay?" Taako sounded worried.

Kravitz felt the heat across his cheeks. "My deepest apologies, this really is important," he murmured to the dwarf. The priest glared, but said nothing, crossing his arms. Kravitz pressed the button to turn the stone on. "Love, just a moment, please. Angus already went home. I'll be home soon, I promise."

"Okay," the elf sounded pleased. "I'm glad I caught you alone, homie. After I came back from the clinic, all I could think of was the way you touched me this morning. I am all _ready_ for you to--"

"Taako! I'm--" Kravitz felt like his whole face must have been glowing from the embarrassment. The priest just laughed at him. "There's other people," he hissed.

Taako's delighted laugh did not help dissipate the burn of Kravitz's cheeks. "Okay, home boy, just get here soon and fuck me. That's all. Smooch." The stone went dead, so Kravitz let it drop back against his chest and covered his face. There was little way that could have gone worse for the reaper in trying to convince this priest he was legitimate.

"I am so very sorry," Kravitz apologized, wanting to dive into the nearest open grave.

The dwarf brought his laughter down to chuckles. "They say the Raven Queen curses those unworthy who covet the book of the dead in strange ways."

"Can I please just have the _Liber Mortuorum_?" The reaper may have reached a breaking point. "I think I've embarrassed myself enough for one night."

"Alli," the dwarf started, "at this point, I may not even believe the Raven Queen if she came down to tell me you weren't lyin'. Priests practice prudence and modesty. It sounds like you have your hands full of the fleetin' mortal excesses. Why don't you head on home to your man and set your sights on an honest job? He sounds nice, could settle down and get married." Kravitz couldn't blame the priest for thinking even worse of him. The clergy dedicated themselves to little beyond the communities they served.

Frustration got the better of Kravitz. Even if the dwarf was only doing what he thought was right, he did need that book. The ravens may not have obeyed him, but shadows did.

Kravitz rarely showed his third face. Mostly because it was objectively horrifying and mildly impractical. Unfortunately, due to his work with the clergy, it was the form most associated with the Raven Queen. She seemed to prefer it that way, so that none knew her true face. The dwarf looked reasonably speechless. Kravitz reached down a dark, taloned hand, reaching up with his other two hands to adjust his jaw to make it easier to speak around his rows of teeth. "The book, if you please," his voice was only slightly unnatural. He sucked on the nick he'd given his own tongue; this form wasn't exactly great at diplomacy.

The book slipped into his grasp. He dispatched it with a herd of shadows back to the ravens outside. The dwarf did not tremble, but he looked anywhere but Kravitz's face. Kravitz held up one long, gaunt finger. "I am not the Raven Queen, but do not make me ask for things twice," he warned. He shrunk back to his material form, sighing.

"What are you then?" There was no longer suspicion, but there was still distrust. 

"What do you think I am?" Kravitz found that a better way to approach the clergy when he had to pull out his big and scary. They were people of the Raven Queen, they enjoyed nothing more than seeking their own answers.

The dwarf rattled out a breath. "The Thief. The Tormentor. The Reaper." He shook his head. "In all my years, I never wanted to meet _you_. Not here to take my soul or you'd be off with it, already. So you're really here 'bout the central temple?"

Kravitz nodded. "I prefer Kravitz, but you may call me Alli. That's how I introduced myself to you," he didn't prefer people knowing that much of his True Name, but it was still far from it. 

"You can call me Gregory, but my tombstone'll read Bishop Gregory," the man held out his hand to shake. Kravitz took it and held back a grunt at how tightly the dwarf gripped his hand. "You're a lot less intimidatin' than stories make you seem. But maybe that's the stone call from earlier spoilin' an otherwise terrifyin' record." Gregory grinned and let go of Kravitz's hand, clapping him hard on the shoulder in a friendly way.

The reaper scratched at the side of his nose. "Really, sorry about that," he murmured. "Why don't we speak tomorrow of what needs must for the restoration effort?" They made plans to meet at the central temple to draw up a list for restoration. The dwarf did not plan on staying in the city for longer than was needed to find a new head priest. The sect at the The Fates thought it was a poor use of resources to allow such a cathedral to continue to languish. It seemed that Gregory belonged to the Orthodox church and not the Reformed, which Kravitz tended to see more eye-to-eye with. 

"Well, I should be getting to my dinner. It sounded as if you had places to be, too." Gregory winked at Kravitz, who just mumbled incoherently in agreement. "One day, I'll have to meet the man who looked The Reaper in the face and decided to ask for a date 'stead of beggin' for his life. Sounds like an interestin' fellow," he laughed.

Kravitz felt that calling Taako interesting was like saying a mountain was larger than your average hill. "You're not wrong," he said instead. "Have a good dinner, bishop." 

They waved to each other and Kravitz came back out to a flood of ravens in the graveyard. He could see people slowing down as they walked past or just trying to avoid it entirely. The books were waiting for him, so he picked both up and tucked them into the shadows to be more surreptitious. The flood of ravens hopped from rooftop to rooftop as Kravitz made his way back to the central temple. People still out in the early evening murmured about the bad omen. Kravitz vindictively thought it served them right to be spooked when they hadn't requested permission to destroy the temples. As soon as he opened the door, the all flew past his face and down below, carrying their dead to bury. He felt them take the tomes with them from the shadows who grasped sadly at the air, not quick enough to stop them, so he let it go and turned to leave. Ravens were more invested in the secrets of the dead than Kravitz. 

By the time Kravitz reached the bakery, it had been closed for a while. Kravitz plucked loose feathers and debris off his tunic. The sticks and leaves he loosed from his curls didn't bode well for being handsome. 

Death sucked in a breath and self-consciously slunk upstairs to his lover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning ahead of time that the next chapter has a 50/50 chance of just being good ol' smut. Haven't quite decided yet. I'll probably put a warning at the top, but I wouldn't be writing smut if it didn't have a purpose beyond boning (I am still not sorry about that pun). 
> 
> Glad you're all enjoying this! I'm worried sometimes chapters seem filler-y, but there's always hints even if they're not obvious. I really enjoy conspiracy-level mysteries. Not that it won't all be revealed eventually. ;p 
> 
> As always, for my very busy target audience of one.


	15. Of Flight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Death without life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, just going to start out with your mood killer: This is got sex with dicks and buttstuff. 
> 
> There's also some important stuff, but you can skip it when they get to the bedroom until the usual send off in the last paragraph. 
> 
> Up to this point, I've been as headcanon agnostic as I could be minus one request and necessary story elements. This headcanon agnosticism includes not being explicit about if Taako has a penis in the current time of this fanfic. So note I will break briefly with that this chapter, then return to your regularly scheduled content.

Taako greeted him at the door with nothing but a silk robe, two glasses of wine, and a deep sigh at the state he was in. Kravitz pecked him on the cheek sheepishly. "Sorry, love," he murmured. 

"What were you even doing, shark teeth?" Kravitz pulled off his shoes by the door. Taako returned the wine to the coffee table, then fussed with Kravitz's hair, picking a few leaves out. "You'll need a shower," he complained. 

Kravitz nodded, letting Taako get the worst of the debris out. "Had to take care of some business at the other crypts. Met a visiting bishop who is also in the city to aide restoration efforts." 

The elf's hands stilled in his hair. "So, you didn't need Angus in the end?" 

"No, no, we'll still need him to help make a new flock. A visiting priest does not make a good new beginning," Kravitz replied, reaching up to touch Taako's cheek. "It went fine. He's home, he's safe, love. I wouldn't have-- I wouldn't have let anything happen, you know that," his voice dropped to a whisper. Taako leaned forward and kissed him fiercely, straddling his lap. Kravitz was more careful than usual with how he kissed back, not wanting to break skin this early in the night. The elf kissed along Kravitz's jaw and wrapped his arms around the reaper's neck. He stayed there, motionless, breathing against Kravitz's shoulder.

Then he spoke, slowly and carefully, "Homie, I don't care if you lie to me sometimes. You probably do it because you think it's what's best for me, but _please_ don't lie to me about my son." 

The reaper put his arms around Taako's back and pressed a cheek against his hair. Taako had caught him. Something told him he could plead innocence and Taako would accept it. He would look Kravitz in the eyes and know he was lying; he would accept that Kravitz thought Taako better for the lie. 

So, Kravitz told him the truth and Taako leaned against his shoulder to listen. 

He could not tell the elf all the truth, but explaining that initiates died was not forbidden knowledge. No, the hardest part was relaying the exact words he'd exchanged with the Raven Queen when he had begged, "I said it would destroy you. That it would destroy me." He paused, looking down at his elf. It had only now hit him that he had defied the Raven Queen for the first time in his very long not-quite-life for the man in his arms. 

"Did she say anything?" 

Kravitz took a deep breath. He thought about lying. "She asked, 'Isn't that what you wanted?'" 

Taako jerked back to look Kravitz more completely in the face. "What?" He shook his head, incredulous. "That doesn't even make sense, homie! Fuckin' cryptic _bullshit_." Kravitz couldn't look him in the eyes anymore, turning his head to the side. The soft hands on his face forced him to look back. "Babe, tell me it doesn't make sense." 

Kravitz put his hands over Taako's, then pulled them from his face, kissing the palms of Taako's hands as he lowered them. Taako shook his head slowly, starting to pull away from Kravitz, walking backwards until his knees hit the coffee table. "She said I stole the ravens, but she could only give me whatever--," he paused, gesturing to himself and letting Taako's hands go in the process, "-- _this_ is as a poor imitation. Anytime I get near those memories, I have to swallow back the blackest, bitterest bile and wrath. The Raven Queen can easily grant immortality, Taako." He clasped his hands tightly in his lap. "I was given immortality I did not want and I _suffered_ for it." His hands clasped tighter, knuckles white. He dropped his gaze to his lap. "Immortality so powerful that even the Raven Queen could not take my life. What else would I have accepted for the life of _my daughter_? Revenge. Revenge against _him_. That he would have to suffer forever with me. Be robbed of every parent, sibling, lover, child, or friend. As I was," he looked up at Taako, "as I will be. For as many lifetimes as I had to suffer." He kept his voice level. "Being destroyed would be a mercy, but I won't have it that way. I won't have it destroy you, too, or rob Angus from this world. I begged her, Taako, I dropped to my knees and I _begged_ her. I defied her." He finally looked up and Taako had his mouth covered. "She brought him back. He's safe, I watched him go home." Kravitz didn't know if that last part was for Taako or himself.

Taako reached forward and took his hands, easing them apart. "Do you suffer now, Kravitz?" His eyes were looking down at their joined hands, the promise ring. 

Kravitz ran his thumb along the gold band. "No," his voice was barely above a whisper. "How could I suffer with you, Taako? I love you. When you leave me, I will suffer. If you want me to join you, I will find a way to follow. If you want me to stay, I will find a way to go on. When you go, I will not be the same man you--," he stopped, not sure if it was to swallow back a lump in his throat or a laugh, "-- you said you'd put in a tentacle porn." Taako laughed, loudly with an ugly snort, winding his hands in Kravitz's curls. He leaned forward and bumped their foreheads together, lower lip trembling. 

"That offer--" he hiccuped, "That offer still stands, thug. I saw y-you blushing." He laughed again as he slid onto Kravitz's lap. "Got some weird fetishes we need to talk about before we get to th-- the bedroom?" Kravitz wasn't sure where to put his hands, so he helped steady Taako as the elf straddled him. That made the robe bunch up farther. His hands slipped on the silk as the elf settled more weight onto Kravitz's hands and Taako started to tumble backwards, pulling Kravitz's hair hard. Kravitz managed to grab him around the middle before he could crash into the coffee table, his heart beating fast. This time, he tried not to think about it. They both laughed as Kravitz pulled Taako more securely against his chest. "Shit, that was close. Sorry about your hair, babe. Silk robe seemed like a sexy idea in theory." Taako looked up sheepishly and put his hands on either side of Kravitz's face. 

"I'm fine," Kravitz smiled; it hadn't hurt much. Taako kissed him between bouts of laughter. "I like your robe. Like the elf in it more," he murmured when Taako pulled back to lean their foreheads together again.

"I can't believe I'm saying this when we should be having sex, but," Taako took a deep breath, blinking rapidly, "when I go, stay here." His eyes dropped away, down to the side. "Stay here and do good shit for me. Make the world a better place cause you knew me or some shit. You're the poet, you'll come up with something, handsome." He looked back at Kravitz. 

Kravitz smiled softly. "I'll make the world jealous they did not know you. How about that?" He gave Taako a peck on the lips.

"Good," Taako murmured, leaning in to kiss the reaper harder, pushing him back farther into the couch. Kravitz let him have control. He sat back, hands dropping from Kravitz's curls to his hips, fingertips brushing under the hem of the tunic. His eyes looked up to Kravitz. "Can I?" Kravitz carefully let go of Taako and raised his hands above his head. The elf pulled the tunic off and tossed it aside, running his hands down Kravitz's chest once it was gone. He stopped over the reaper's heart and leaned forward, pressing his ear to it, smiling. "Glad that's going. I think we need it, shark teeth." He turned his head, kissing down Kravitz's torso as he slipped off the couch, one leg at a time. He tugged a little at the leggings. "Can I?" Kravitz nodded.

The kisses along the hem of the leggings made Kravitz shiver, Taako's hands tickling at his sides. Kravitz awkwardly lifted up, bracing the back of the couch, so Taako could tug the leggings down and off. The elf brushed his fingertips from Kravitz's hips and down the outside of his thighs, taking in the sight of him. Kravitz tried not to be embarrassed by his half-arousal. Taako stood, biting his own lip, and took one of Kravitz's hands, putting it on the flimsy silk belt knotted at his waist. Kravitz could see what the anticipation was doing to the elf, one foot lifting and resettling, hands twitching against Kravitz's wrist. Driven by this, he slipped his other hand between the part and rested it on Taako's bare hip to draw it. It was intoxicating how desperately Taako wanted Kravitz to see him. "Can I?" Kravitz's voice sounded low. He looked up to meet Taako's eyes; Taako nodded and Kravitz pulled. The silk slid off Taako and pooled by their feet between the coffee table and couch. 

The first thing that struck him was that Taako wasn't using any of his glamours. He was well and truly naked. Taako had been put through so much and his body carried those scars. Kravitz reached forward, tracing the swirl of a scar dotted with places it seemed to have hit harder, whatever _it_ was. Taako's breath hitched and he covered Kravitz's hand with his own. "The bedroom," he murmured. Taako tugged him to his feet and then to the bed in the other room. Kravitz admired Taako from behind as they went.

Taako started to turn around, but Kravitz stopped him, putting his arms around Taako's waist. He pulled their bodies flush together. Taako's hands settled over his. "I know you've been waiting, but are you sure?" 

The elf turned around in his arms and kissed him. "I've been waiting years to touch you like this," he growled. He put his hands on Kravitz's cheeks, sliding his palms down the reaper's throat slowly, then settling them on Kravitz's shoulder. "Which means I can wait longer if you need more time, Kravitz," there was a seriousness there that Taako didn't normally adopt. 

"You've reminded me how to ache for someone, Taako." Kravitz enjoyed the reaction that garnered, Taako trying to maintain a cool façade of self-control. "What I need is you." 

With that, Kravitz was spun around and pushed back onto the bed. He laughed as Taako straddled him and leaned down to kiss him feverishly. "Thought more," he breathed, "about you sucking on my cock. Today, while I touched myself so I'd be ready for you. Realized that the whole teeth thing was a problem, shark teeth. Don't want to recreate our fifth date, except my dick instead of my lip. I can deal with a little scar on my face. My dick? Nu uh, homie."

Kravitz leaned up to bite and lick Taako's neck while the elf started the running commentary he knew would continue throughout. The moans he managed to elicit from his lover went right through him in ways he hadn't let them before. He brought his hands up to Taako's waist, groaning as the elf ground their hips together. 

One of his hands moved between them. A part of him that knew what to do, but didn't, helped him here, too. He gripped Taako's hip with his other hand and directed the elf so he could wrap a hand around both of their cocks. "Krav," Taako moaned, hips giving a slight stutter with each stroke. Kravitz's other hand moved behind Taako, lightly running his fingertips over the base of Taako's spine. 

He stopped stroking and Taako whined at the loss. He tried to think of what he was looking for, the word for it. Despite Taako thinking Kravitz was a poet, Kravitz wasn't a smooth talker like the elf. "Lube?" His voice was deep and throaty. 

Taako stumbled to his feet. Kravitz blinked in alarm. "Shit! I left it in the bathroom!" The reaper felt that a great wizard was weeping somewhere that Taako, a man who could do true polymorphs, used his mage hand to grab a bottle of lube because it was quicker. If Kravitz was being honest with himself, it was a bit of a turn-on that Taako no longer needed a focus for something so small. 

He winked at Kravitz as he handed it over, resuming his previous position on top of the reaper. Kravitz poured some over his fingers and slipped his hand back to the base of Taako's spine. He took a moment to admire his lover, practically buzzing with his want of Kravitz, staring down at the reaper with love and lust. "Mm, gonna stare at me or touch me, thug?" Taako growled at Kravitz, hands splaying across the reaper's chest. 

Kravitz slipped a finger inside him, already finding him slick and ready. The reaper pushed in a second. "Told you I touched myself thinkin' 'bout you," Taako groaned, rocking back on Kravitz's fingers. "Don't look so surpri--" he cut himself off with a sharp moan. Kravitz was moving his fingers carefully despite Taako's slowly dissipating control. He was suddenly glad he'd taken to blunting his claws after he'd torn up Taako's windowsill, but they could still hurt. A third finger as he sought that spot again, changing the angle of his thrusts. Taako shuddered and slid his hands from Kravitz's chest to the bed sheets on either side of the reaper, gripping them tightly. "Babe, need you," he moaned. Kravitz pulled his fingers free and started to reach for the lube again. 

"'S my turn, handsome," Taako panted, nicking the lube before Kravitz could grab it. He poured some of the lube on his own hands and rubbed them together until it'd warmed. He reached down, taking Kravitz's cock and stroking slowly. Kravitz let his hands drop to the outside of Taako's thighs, groaning softly. Kravitz moved his hand to stop Taako, who laughed lowly. "Too much too soon?" He stopped stroking and moved Kravitz's hands back to his hips. "Help me out, huh? I wanna see you fall apart for me, babe." Taako found a comfortable position, then carefully lowered himself. 

Kravitz was glad self-discipline was a virtue of the clergy. Furthermore, that thinking of the clergy helped him piece back together his self control as his lover slid down his cock. Taako sat still, momentarily, with Kravitz fully inside him, adjusting. It was more the thought of who he was making love to than the sex that was driving Kravitz closer to disappointing someone who had waited nearly a decade for this. 

More sobering thoughts to keep him level. He needed those as Taako began to move. Kravitz helped him set the pace. It wasn't long before Taako was leaning forward, covering Kravitz's face in kisses, and his hands knotted hopelessly in the reaper's curls. He tried to use Taako's very vocal responses as an indicator for how fast to go. Taako was moving his hips on each thrust in a way that made Kravitz slam inside the elf. He changed his angle slightly until he hit the spot that made Kravitz more than sure that anyone passing by the bakery would know exactly what was happening. He tried to focus on drawing out the shivers and gasps of pleasure. As he, himself, got closer, he could already feel the bruises he was leaving Taako's hips. "Babe, so close, more, love you," were tangled between the elf's moans. Feverish, open-mouth kisses along his neck and jaw as Taako took over more of the pace, forcing a fast, chaotic tempo of thrusts.

It wasn't long before he felt Taako reach his peak. Taako cried his name into his ear and then bit down directly over the earring, spilling himself between their bodies. The tightness and the tug was enough to bring Kravitz crashing over the edge with his lover, moaning softly.

Taako collapsed on top of him, breathing hard, shifting so Kravitz fell out of him. He seemed to take a few minutes to collect his thoughts, which Kravitz was glad of. The reaper wasn't able to formulate any of the pretty words Taako liked. "Babe," he panted, "That was at least a solid eight out of ten for me. Ten out of ten for you, huh? Guess I am the first in a _long_ time, though."

Kravitz laughed, low and breathy, trying to figure out why he was trying so hard to take in air he didn't need. "Was it worth the wait? It doesn't sound like it was particularly exceptional sex." He could feel his heart trying to calm down in his chest.

Taako rolled over, laying on his side. "Yeah, but see, I've only met," he paused to count, "six guys who score an eight or above. Those were one night stands. You're an all night stand, shark teeth. Totally worth it. Solid catch for Taako, homie." 

The reaper snorted. "Were you waiting just as long to make that fishing joke?" Confusion passed over Taako's face, then he seemed to get it. He rolled on his back, howling with laughter and holding his stomach. It was peppered with ugly, unguarded snorts and Kravitz loved it. 

Death thought that if this was living, then he really could find a way to live when his life had left him for the Veil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY. I feel like I have to justify this chapter. I've _never_ written smut in my entire life. I was like "okay this is my super secret pseudonym that no one will ever know is me so I should at least _try_ ". 
> 
> Griffin, Justin, and world: I am _so_ sorry. And if I die happy, it will be dying knowing you never read this apology because you never needed to know I apologized.
> 
> I don't know what went wrong, but I feel like my mom is probably really proud of me, tbh. I was gonna say "either really proud or disappointed", but like. I know my mom. My mom is sitting on her couch and is going to text me in .5 seconds because she randomly got the urge to tell me she was proud of me. At least she stopped recommending I read terrible historical romances she likes. Now she recommends what strip clubs I should go to when I visit. THANKS MOM. YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS ARE ALWAYS WEIRDLY SWEET, BUT I FEEL LIKE YOU PREPARED ME FOR THIS MOMENT.
> 
> Also, I posted this right when I finished writing it so I didn't lose my nerve. Expect minor revisions/corrections throughout the day.


	16. So She Conspired with Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A memory of sin.

The priests of the Raven Queen say that when someone dreams, they put one foot in the grave. Dreams are just a part of that greater realm of spirits. There, you can find her. The Raven Queen watched Kravitz from atop her perch. 

It had been at least a few decades since Kravitz had been summoned to her throne room. A quick look behind at the silver chord confirmed that he was still sleeping in Taako's bed on the material plane. 

She had moved when Kravitz had taken his eyes off her, face just inches from his, looming over him. Kravitz tried not to tremble; he bowed low instead of simpering and begging for mercy. 

She went back to her perch and gestured for Kravitz to come forward. He walked towards her cautiously. A raven Kravitz immediately recognized as the altar bird was holding a sprig of mint in its mouth. The raven flew to his shoulder as he approached. It dropped the mint in the hand he held out to it.

" _She traded two twigs from her nest so I may give you a message. Her name is the name ravens use for mint. Fitting for your first subject, Kravitz,_ " the raven, Mint, preened at being addressed by the Queen. Kravitz tried hard to take what she said at face value.

"Yes, my Lady," he murmured. Mint had really wanted him to know. He pet the raven's head with one silver-y finger. She chortled in appreciation.

The Raven Queen watched him, the silence stretching on for what felt like an eternity. " _What do you wish to ask?_ " 

Kravitz dipped his head. He knew better than to ask why she had asked. It was not his place to ask why she granted any one thing. That would be the thing he was allowed to ask. "What did I _do_?"

The Raven Queen's serrated claw reached forward and cut the silver cord. 

He slammed into the memory. An ache blooming along his entire right side. He stumbled to his feet, seeing himself, running. No, not himself. No claws, no strange eyes, looking slightly younger. Kravitz righted himself and followed the path of his memory. 

The man who was him was carrying a bucket of water and rags, water sloshing as he ran to a bedroom. He left a trail of it as he went. Inside was a woman, splashed across the floor. No, not _a_ woman. The woman from the mirror. She had started to gurgle on blood, her throat in ribbons.

In the corner was his daughter, a little younger, too, than when he'd seen her. Maybe no more than five. She was staring straight ahead, tears trickling down her cheeks. "Alli," she whispered. "I'm sorry." 

Alli tried to staunch the bleeding at the woman's throat. Kravitz realized belatedly that Alli's arms were bandaged. A razor was discarded nearby. The razor Kravitz now had in his drawer of treasures. The little girl sunk down the wall and hugged her knees, watching Alli with wide eyes. "It's alright, baby, your mama and me are gonna be alright," his voice was panicked, but he turned to flash the girl a smile. Then, his attention was back on trying to stop the spreading crimson.

The woman grasped at Alli, grabbing the man's tunic. She pointed at the door, towards the gate and then turned her head to the little girl. "No, no, Vinn, don't talk like that," Alli murmured. The woman grabbed Alli's hand and moved it in ways Kravitz didn't understand at first, but it was clearly something he once knew. She repeated the same signs over and over again. "Stop," Alli begged. He tried to keep at stopping the blood, but she shook her head. It was the grim determination of the dying.

Kravitz felt a lump in his own throat. He could see, now, what she was saying. " _Tell her I love her. Tell her it's okay. Run._ " Over and over until her movements slowed and her hands went limp in Alli's. He dropped them as if burned. 

Alli sat back, covering his face. In horror, in confusion, in grief. Kravitz knelt next to the memory of the woman as his younger self rocked, sobbing. The reaper touched her hair. They had been lovers, an affair, yes, but later they had been friends. This was when he had watched his best friend die. 

No, this was when he had murdered his best friend and he had been helpless to stop it. 

The little girl stumbled to her feet and over to Alli. "Alli, Alli, we have to go before daddy gets home," her tiny voice was urgent, just barely holding back tears. Alli seemed deaf to her cries. She shook his shoulder, tears starting to bubble up. "Papa," she sobbed. "Please, papa, please. I'm so sorry. I didn't want you to leave." She wiped furiously at her face and shook Alli as hard as her hands could. "Get up," she said firmly. 

"Please, baby, no," Alli's voice was trembling as much as his legs as he stood. 

"Give me your hand," the little girl demanded. Alli held out his hand with a shudder. Kravitz squinted, trying to parse what was happening. Alli was swaying on his feet; his wounds may have been bandaged, but he had lost a lot of blood. His daughter grabbed Alli's hands and started to pull him forward. "Papa, walk." Alli did so, mechanically, following her to the well. The commands continued, instructing Alli to clean off the blood and then follow her out of the gates. Alli remained quiet after the first protest, just allowing this little girl to guide him. His hands shook and each breath came out as a sob, but he said nothing. Partway to wherever the little girl was leading him, Alli's legs had buckled. Kravitz was not unused to death and this was a man ready to step beyond the curtain. 

His daughter grabbed his hands, pulling at him hard, but Alli did not have the strength to get up. "Baby," he murmured. "Go to," his head dipped, then bobbed back up, he was fading fast, "You have a grandma in the elven capital. She'll protect you. I can't stay. Run and--"

The girl was on the edge of panic. "Get up!" Alli jumped to his feet, groaning in pain.

It clicked for Kravitz. Alli hadn't stood of his own free will. 

"We're almost to the clinic, papa, _please_ ," she begged. "Just a little more." Alli started to sink to his knees again. "Stay awake. Walk. Go to the healer." The commands came out between sobs as she clung to his hand. Kravitz reached out, wanting to comfort her and wanting to take away the pain of the dying man. A raven cawed. He stood again, jolted up by her command, but he twisted. Kravitz winced as he heard something snap in the awkward jump to his feet. It'd caught on a rock he hadn't seen. He went down again immediately, crying out in pain. The little girl shook her head and covered her face, wiping furiously at the tears. "Walk, papa!" She clapped her hands and Alli rose again, staggering, as she directed him, sobbing in pain with each step. Ravens waited, watching them. Death for Kravitz in this memory was what it should have been.

She sat in bushes and cried while Alli went inside to have the healer see to his wounds. Alli reached towards his daughter, useless as only an observer of this memory. This was not her fault.

He felt someone smoothing thumbs across his cheeks, his eyes fluttered open and he was looking up at Taako, worlds away in the bed they shared.

Taako rested his hands on either side of Alli's face. "You were talking in your sleep, bubala," he murmured sleepily.

Alli put his hands over Taako's. "Did I wake you up?"

Taako shook his head. "No no no no, well, maybe just a little. 'S fine, homie. What do you want for breakfast? I sort of feel like cooking," he yawned. Alli laughed and sat up, kissing Taako on the tip of the nose. The elf scrunched his face up in response. "Just cause we fucked don't mean you can be all cute 'n romantic, shark teeth." 

"Funny, I thought that's why you liked me," Alli grinned and kissed him on the nose again, rising from the bed. He ran a hand through his hair. They'd cleaned up before going to sleep, but his curls were still a damp. 

Death's mind wandered back to the dream. He remembered, with a start, that he wasn't Alli anymore. 

Kravitz blinked, feeling like something had changed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those non-DND nerds, Kravitz is in an astral projection at the beginning. Typically, if the silver chord gets cut, your soul is destroyed and your body immediately dies. 
> 
> I thought since the last chapter was sort of short on Plot Content, I would supplement it with another short chapter and give two updates today.


	17. And He, Who Was Her Father

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The past haunts the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your "Spoilers for episode 59" warning.

It took Kravitz a moment to regain a his footing. Taako stretched and went over to Kravitz, wrapping his arms around the reaper from behind. He rested his chin on Kravitz's shoulder. Kravitz put his hands on top of Taako's, leaning back into his hold. 

"You wanna talk about it, Krav?" Kravitz appreciated Taako giving him the option. It wasn't an obligation, but it was an opening. 

Kravitz turned his head to kiss Taako on the side of the head. He both did and did not want to talk about it. The last couple of days had been heavy on his own emotional issues. Taako deserved some time to talk, too. "Don't you still owe me an honest answer?" Taako sighed dramatically and gave Kravitz a brief squeeze around the middle. 

"Okay, okay, fine. Shoulda known you wouldn't forget about that." Taako let him go after kissing the top Kravitz's shoulder. "Why don't I cook while we shoot the breeze, bucko?" He slipped on a house robe and made his way to the kitchen. Kravitz pulled on a pair of leggings from the drawer Taako had given him for his scant few items of clothing. 

There was clatter in the kitchen as Taako set out his preparations. "So what'd you want to aim at me, homespice?" 

The chair creaked as Kravitz sat down at the table. "Why don't you talk about your parents?"

A sound of something coming down forcefully on the counter betrayed Taako's true emotions under the detached-sounding hum. "'Cause they're fuckin' stupid assholes." Kravitz heard Taako rummaging around in the cabinet. "Look, boyfriend, how much do you got in the ol' cranium about high elves? This is going to be a lot of exposition shit since I'm not sure how much of this shit even _exists_ here." 

Kravitz thought for a moment, piecing together all he knew. "The have cities where the border with the Feywild is thinnest. They're particularly hard to kill." His mother had been in the elven capitol, but Kravitz kept that to himself. 

"Know anything about Evermeet?" Taako, turned to look at Kravitz, spoon in one hand, tapping it against the counter. 

The reaper snorted and gestured. "The _worst_ bounties end up there. Because of course they do. It's like playing a game of cat and mouse trying to figure out which plane they've passed over and from," Kravitz complain, gesturing. He was not too fond of the city. 

Taako nodded. "Yeah. It's mostly in the Feywild and it's all elves. It fuckin' sucks, homie. If you don't think I'm all up in that feel, then you don't understand feelings at all." The elf shook his head. "I can't remember when, but I visited it on one point. Anyway, where I'm from is sort of like that. Obviously different."

"Because of the alien thing," Kravitz surmised. Taako nodded and stuck out his tongue, returning to his preparation. 

"Look, I'm still surprised you guys even know what aliens are. Like, you know, have an abstract concept of them, homie," Taako paused in his cooking, turning to Kravitz and waving the spoon. "Like, the fuck does that even come from? I mean we got rockets and satellites and shit, but best you guys have 's magic wagons."

Kravitz wanted to ask what a 'satellites' was, but frankly thought he'd embarrass himself trying to say it. "So, your parents?" 

Taako shook his head. "Yeah, yeah, I'm getting there, don't fuckin' rush me. Anyway, yeah, so we were from not-Evermeet. My dad was a noble eladrin. My mom was a regular person." Taako turned and sighed at the blank look Kravitz gave him. "Okay, okay, so they're these angel things, but for the Tel'Quess-- elves-- you can become one if you attune your magic to the Feywild enough. Sorta like seasonal angels. It's actually pretty fuckin' interesting, but kinda old school." Kravitz hoped Taako wouldn't notice he really had no idea what this was, but only needed enough to grasp what Taako was getting at. "Romeo and Juliet bullshit, 'cept they had twins before they eloped to the Feywilds and didn't die. Couldn't take me 'n Lup with them, so they left us with my mom's grandpa. They'd write us stupid ass letters about how much they missed us, but apparently not enough, huh? Didn't write us at all after grandpa died." Taako slammed a measuring cup down, despite his calm expression. Kravitz wanted to smooth out the lines of tension along his lover's body. "They probably died, too. So, what was the dream about?"

Kravitz blinked, trying to process all of that information. "I murdered my daughter's mother." Taako froze in the kitchen. "I seemed to be trying to save her. I don't think I wanted to." He dropped his eyes to the table, trying not to let his emotions get the better of him. "My daughter was there, too. Two years before-- She kept apologizing like it was her fault. I think I might have tried to kill myself, too? My arms were bandaged, not very well. I'd already lost too much blood; I was dying. My daughter she--" Kravitz paused, trying to find the right words. "She _commanded_ me to go to a clinic, Taako."

There was a stretch of silence. "I would have, too, home boy," Taako's tone was soft. 

"No, she-- I didn't have a choice. Whatever she said, I followed. I should have slumped over dead, but I was the only thing she had-- At one point, I stood up awkwardly and slipped on a rock. I think a raven put it there, trying to collect a bounty. When I slipped, my ankle broke. She told me to walk and I had no other choice," Kravitz was trying to keep the messy, lingering fear and panic from his voice. He took a deep breath, reminding himself that it had happened a long time ago. "She had some kind of-- something like my songs, but different. More."

Taako leaned against the kitchen's archway, crossing his arms and looking at Kravitz. Kravitz didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to think about-- _that man shouting in his face, "She was my daughter more than yours, Alli! I did what I had to!" Alli's fist connected with his royal face before the guards could stop him._

_"Don't you dare! Don't you dare say--" Alli smacked against the wall with a wave of familiar magic. The revenant swiped the blood from his lip and stood up from the floor, shaking with rage._

_"You're the only thing left, Alli," he snarled. He stepped closer to Alli, looming into his personal space and putting a hand over his where his heart would have been. "I'm fucking glad I killed her."_

Taako had moved closer, putting his hand on Kravitz's cheek. He didn't ask, but Kravitz could see the concern stamped all over his face.

Kravitz searched Taako's face, looking for something he didn't have a word for. He looked away, clearing his throat, finding his voice, "What was your grandpa like?"

His lover nodded in understanding and went back to the kitchen. "He was, yanno, sorta strict, but also sorta like having a grandma and grandpa rolled into one. He was only strict 'cause he loved us so much. He told us that all the time," Kravitz could hear the smile in the elf's voice. "He'd say, 'Bubala, you get out in those fucking cornfields and bring me back ten barrels of ears. And if you can't do it in an hour, then you better get your ass back to this house for cookies. And you better be careful!' And then he'd tell Lup to watch out for me because he said I was clumsy. Wasn't clumsy, I'm a fuckin' flipwizard, bones. Lup just paid more attention than me to shit." Kravitz laughed softly. He'd always thought Taako had picked up his brand of swearing and pet names from the road. It was hard to imagine a Taako that wasn't guarded and nearly hyper-aware. "Sucked when he died," Taako's voice dropped to a murmur. "Why do you trust the Raven Queen?" 

Kravitz tapped along the edge of the table, trying to quantify it into words. "She isn't actually that hard to understand." Taako laughed; Kravitz smiled weakly. "No, no, really. She's pretty simple. That's why people get confused. The Raven Queen is honest and straightforward, but she doesn't waste her words. She says no more than is needed. She's kind, in her own way." Kravitz traced the grain of the wood on the table. "Did you try to find your parents after your grandpa died?"

Taako let out a long-suffering sigh and set an omelette in front of Kravitz, taking up a plate of fresh food for himself. He sat across from Kravitz and picked at the strawberries. Kravitz took a couple bites of the food, savoring the taste. Taako seemed to deliberate, plucking off the seeds on a strawberry. "Lup wanted to, but I-- Look, take this secret to your grave, bones. Or astral plane prison or whatever it is you put your secrets forever and ever. I realized when we were seven that grandpa was the one writing the letters from our parents. They weren't dead, but they couldn't even be bothered to write." Kravitz took Taako's hand, but he brushed it away. "I convinced Lup that they didn't write because they didn't know where to send the letters anymore. Rolled a big one on that lie through your fuckin teeth check. She's the big dipper and I'm the little one, handsome. Six minutes and thirty-seven seconds more mature. Someone had to let her have all her sugar plum fairy crap, or else she woulda never been a kid with me," he smiled up at Kravitz. The reaper, momentarily, wished he could fall in love again. This time, when he took Taako's hand, the elf didn't pull away. Kravitz pulled it closer and brushed his lips over the promise ring. Taako snorted, rolling his eyes. "Okay, so I've always wanted to ask you this, Krav. What's it like? Over there, I mean. On the other side of the Veil." 

The reaper shook his head. "I can't tell you that, love. Mostly as I've never been across the Veil. You can ask another question, if you want."

Taako tilted his head. "Wait, I thought you were, yanno, and that this whole skeletor shtick was about the Veil. With your whole scythe thing." 

Ah, so it would be this conversation. "Taako, why did you think I was scared when you tried to hurt yourself?" 

The guilt and hurt spread across Taako's face before Kravitz could take his words back. That had been horrible of Kravitz to ask. "Because you love me and want me to be alive as long as possible?" 

Kravitz squeezed Taako's hand. "I'm sorry, that was not nice of me, love." Taako took a deep breath and Kravitz continued on softly, "Those are both true, though. I live beyond the curtain, Taako, but not beyond the Veil. Beyond the Veil is the one place I cannot go. The astral plane is a transient place for souls before they move on. They learn to accept their deaths and then they take their journey to the land of the dead."

Taako took in a sharp intake of breath. "Good. Like I said last night, find a way to make," Taako gestured up and down at Kravitz's body, " _this_ happen, spooky. Now, eat the breakfast your boyfriend lovingly prepared for his dead ess oh." Kravitz thought of protesting, but bit his tongue. Taako took a small bite from the strawberry he'd worn clean of its seeds. His pulled his hand free from Kravitz's and rested it on the table, fingers flat against the wood. He chewed slowly, staring down at the promise ring distractedly.

Kravitz ate his breakfast. Taako eventually perked up and turned the conversation to Kravitz's clothes. 

Death's mind turned back to the brief snatch of a fight. He wondered, briefly, if he'd been the only _thing_ left or the only thing left for the revenant. 

Kravitz forced himself to focus on what his lover was saying about his choice in ties.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm kind of curious, what do you all think is happening so far? 
> 
> For the finally-caught-up certain someone. You know who you are _twitchy elf elves and pointy teeth_.


	18. Let Her Command His Hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Different names for the same meaning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter will be a little harder to read as Kravitz's memory jumbles around. This probably answers some questions, but as always, leaves some open. This fic is getting closer to being done. There's more I'd like to write in this continuity, but they'll likely be separated into another fic within this series. ;p It will leave a lot of things unresolved on purpose. 
> 
> Also, check out some of the past/side stories I've been doing as a break from this main story. They have small nuggets of details for the larger story. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy the ride until then!

Mara had interrupted breakfast by yelling at Taako about the appointment he was apparently late to. Kravitz had gotten dressed in his usual suit for his meeting with Bishop Gregory in the central temple. The note for Taako he left in the kitchen was simple, saying he'd return by mid-afternoon and asking if they could go on a date. After a bit of hesitation, he'd sketched a small bouquet of roses in the top corner. It was nothing special, but it got the idea across.

He stopped by a street vendor on his way to the central temple. They didn't have many flowers, but the few there were passable enough. His hands brushed over the petals of some of the flowers, trying to figure out what he could offer in exchange. He touched the -- hyacinth. Alli plucked it from the stand and handed up to the little girl on his shoulders. "What do you think?"

The little girl had hummed, smelling the flower. "It's okay, but you know daddy is just going to bring back better ones," she leaned forward onto the top of Alli's head. "He always does." Kravitz slipped a few copper over to the vendor. and started walking back towards the castle. Royal guards followed them at a distance.

"This is the best your Alli can do on a musician's budget," Alli laughed. "Listen to me, little girl, romance is all in the gesture. Never forget that and you'll sweep someone dashing off their feet. That's your music lesson for the day." His daughter giggled and tapped him on the cheek with the flowers.

"You're not married, Alli," she reminded him.

"Well," he laughed more nervously. He rubbed at the ring on his finger, no more than a gesture itself. "No, but that's because romance is also very complicated. That's why you're not allowed to have any until you're, hm, I'd say two hundred."

She giggled again. "Good. It's boring. You're always reading the poetry with the big words. Or writing letters you put perfume on. And I see you put every sketch next to your heart, for like a million weeks, that you get from--" She tugged a little on his hair and he hid a wince.

"Shh, shh!" Alli's heart nearly stopped, afraid someone might have overheard her for a moment as they neared the wealthier parts of the city where passing nobles curtsied to their princess even atop Alli's shoulders. She was only four, but precocious and sharp. Alli hadn't known she'd already figured out who the flowers were for. "What's your favorite flowers?" He needed to turn the conversation. He'd tell Vinn to talk to the little girl about it in private.

The little girl seemed to think. Alli swung her around to her feet as they finally closed in on the palace gates. "I like hyacinths like daddy."

Kravitz rubbed his temples and leaned against the wall of the nearest building, trying to pull himself back from the dizziness. He still didn't understand what this meant. He wondered if he should just go back to the bakery and hide until they passed. They must have been brought on by his request from the Raven Queen to know what he'd done. He slunk down the wall as he felt a wave of nausea. His heart lurched and stuttered unnaturally. 

Eventually, Kravitz was able to uncurl himself from the sidewalk and stand up without swaying. He stayed close to the buildings as he made his way back to the bakery. 

It was bustling this time of morning. Kravitz made his way through the back entrance and slowly moved out of the way of bakers moving things to a wagon for transportation. When he managed to clamber up the stairs, he sat down on the couch and wrote a small note to Bishop Gregory. Then, he dispatched it with Mint after pausing to pet the raven for a few minutes. 

Everything felt like it was moving slowly for Kravitz. His heart was still beating sluggishly in an unsteady rhythm. The door opened somewhere behind Kravitz. "Handsome, I'm home," Taako rang out, sing-song. He put his arms around Kravitz from behind the couch, hugging him around the neck. "We should go do some shit today. Maybe visit Ren? Johann and Avi could always use company, Avi's always tryin' to get me to play poker, but gamblin' isn't really _for_ Taako," he murmured, thoughtful. 

Kravitz leaned into Taako's touch and tried to use that to help soothe down all his aching edges. He mumbled some noise of agreement. Taako kissed his temple, then stood and stretched. "Finished all my bullshit for the day, so I'm free from Mara's clutches. Seriously betrayed you didn't come rescue me this morning, shark teeth," Taako teased. Kravitz felt his heart stilling, putting a hand over it. "I mean, aren't we on some kind of honeymoon? First fuck honeymoon. Just listen here, I can make out your bony fuckin' fingers on my hips. Not even gonna heal it, nope, not gonna touch it. Kind of hurts, but fuck it. This is proof we finally boned, bones! My conclusion is you should have told Mara you needed an emergency blowjob and gotten me out of that appointment."

"Bishop Gregory will likely be here sometime soon, love," Kravitz struggled to make his voice even. "Besides, you like your job." Kravitz laughed weakly. He was glad Taako had gotten back into high spirits after seeming to be emotionally drained this morning.

Taako huffed. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean I wanna do it when I have _very_ handsome skeletron sitting in my apartment with almost nothing to do but _me_. Also spooky ghost shit, but that's not important to my argument." He walked around the couch, gesturing to punctuate the points he was making. Kravitz watched him with amusement. Taako finally took in his face, arms dropping to his sides. "You kinda look like you might be sick, babe. You didn't catch my cold, right? Don't tell me this is a thing where I get sick, then you get sick, and then we're in some vicious cycle of domestic contagions. Because fuck _that_."

Kravitz shook his head, laughing quietly. "I don't think I can get sick, but I also didn't think my heart could beat anymore." Taako plopped down next to Kravitz on the couch. 

"That's not comforting, handsome," he laughed and leaned against Kravitz's side, tucking his legs underneath himself. Kravitz put an arm around Taako's shoulders. 

This was the happiest he'd seen Taako in a while. There was the easy option of not talking about it, but so far, talking about things seemed to be working out. "I've been getting some," he wet his lips, " _memories_. It's disorientating."

"Let me know when you wanna to talk. Kinda sounds like that's not on the table right now," Taako tapped him on the shoulder. He leaned forward and gave Kravitz a quick peck on the lips. "When's the bishop coming? We got time to fool around?" Kravitz barked out a surprised laugh, Taako smirked and climbed into his lap. "You're turning me back to my early one hundreds, yanno. Cept this time, I'm probably moonstruck, as if things can't get worse. Rockin your bod, livin' in my house, callin' me _love_ , bonin' in my bed now, too. When'd you get so important, handsome? Gettin' a little too big for your britches, bucko." 

Kravitz wrapped his arms around Taako. "Ah, so the king deigns to notice the emperor," he teased. 

" _Excuse me_?" Taako pointed at himself. "Did you just imply you're better than _Taako_?" Kravitz laughed at the mock outrage. "I'm gonna have to take you down a notch, boyfriend, just you wait--" He was interrupted by a knock at the door. Taako's ears twitched at the noise. He got to his feet, pausing to brush his lips against Kravitz's, then headed to answer the door. Kravitz was grateful for Taako, his heart having stopped randomly stuttering to life. He was starting to feel more normal, less _mortal_. That was a sobering thought. 

He focused on the polite chatter between the bishop and Taako, turning his head to look over the back of the couch. "Ah, so yer the man who settled his aim on The Eternal Tormentor," Bishop Gregory clapped his hands, laughing. 

"That's some word of the day shit, bishop," Taako smiled, leading the dwarf to the table. "I'll get some tea for you and the spook." Kravitz saw him walk back to the kitchen. 

Kravitz brushed off his slacks and straightened his tie, then went out to the table. "Hello, Bishop Gregory. Thank you for coming to discuss the details of restoration. I apologize for calling you out so suddenly. There was an issue along the way to meet you, but we can proceed like this. I simply did not trust myself to reach the temple safely," he had put back on the accent Taako didn't like. He picked up a pad of parchment and quill from one of the kitchen drawers, pausing to peck Taako on the cheek. The elf turned the parchment he was holding around, the note from that morning, and mouthed ' _Cute_.' Kravitz's cheeks warmed a little and he went back to the table, dipping the quill in some ink. 

"Well," Gregory also adopted the accent of the Church, switching to official mode. "I did see the pews are in terrible disrepair. We'll need to replace the whole lot. As many as we need, we may need to bring someone in and have them design new rather than purchasing. The sect at the Three Fates is willing to put forth some of the coffers. When the temple is repaired, it will be the single largest standing place of worship to her majesty." Kravitz jotted down a note on the parchment, suddenly missing Magnus. "They want everything to be all grand so it all stands out."

"I have an idea for the design. A friend of mine did a beautiful box to the Raven Queen, blessed may his travels be," Kravitz sighed. 

Gregory dropped his head in prayer and murmured the blessing in turn, "Blessed may his travels be." His head bobbed back up. "Depends on the design, I suppose." He rubbed at his beard. 

Taako walked out and set the tea in front of them. Kravitz smiled to see he hadn't forgotten the mint for his own cup, taking a sip. The wizard had already cooled it down for him to room temperature. "Are you talking about the box Maggie made, babe?" Kravitz nodded and Taako went to pull it from a bookshelf where it was proudly displayed, passing it to Bishop Gregory.

Bishop Gregory admired it, turning it this way and that. "Would you mind if I borrow this for a bit just to hand off to the woodworkers? It's good; subtle, simple. We don't need the Lady thinkin' we've taken on airs. Even if that's exactly what they're doin' at The Fates," he snorted and his accent had slipped briefly. 

"Yeah, go ahead, homie. Mango'd like it that way," he smiled sadly down at his own tea. Kravitz reached over and squeezed his hand. 

Kravitz agreed, jotting down another note for himself with his free hand. "The magical foundations are mostly fine, but some have decayed. I noticed it most around the paintings. They're, ah," he glanced at Taako, then back at the Bishop, "Well, you know how they are in a temple this large." Taako blinked, raising an eyebrow. "Taako is a servant of Istus. My apologies for not mentioning it earlier." 

Bishop Gregory shook his head. "No harm done, we've not said nothing that doesn't sit in the open yet. I know what you mean about the paintings. That'll have to be first in the order, then, before anyone gets hurt. Poor birdies." He turned a speculative eye on Taako. "Istus, eh? Strike me more as an Avandra kind of guy, if you don't mind me saying." Kravitz circled a one on that note. 

"Well, we were dying in a time loop bubble, so I didn't have much of choice, bucko," Taako huffed. He took a sip of his tea. Gregory just looked at him blankly. Taako pointed at himself. "Hi, I'm _The_ Taako. From the moon."

Recognition sparked in Bishop Gregory's eyes. "You don't say! I suppose thanks are in order for saving all of existence," he laughed. Taako preened at having finally been recognized. "Some of the disciples are really into your cooking show, but I haven't much touched it myself. Might pick up an autograph to make them work harder for a priest of the month prize." Now, it was Taako's turn to look at Gregory blankly, but the bishop didn't seem to want to expand. "Now then, about clean-up." 

They continued on like this, toeing around anything Taako couldn't hear. Taako seemed to genuinely enjoy learning more about how the church functioned and what they found important. Kravitz appreciated he was taking an interest in something so important to the reaper. Taako made two more cups of tea before they concluded that they probably had everything in order for what was needed to restore the temple to its glory. 

Kravitz stood and shook Gregory's hand. "I'll be in and out sporadically to help with these tasks. Considering this list of items and their unauthorized destruction of the other two temples, it seems I'll be the one who approaches the city for funds."

Gregory gave him a wicked grin and returned the hand shake. "Don't roll too many heads, Reaper." He turned to Taako and held out his hand. Taako hesitantly handed it over, trying to keep from stumbling at the strong grip when Gregory grabbed his hand. "It was nice to meet you, too, The Taako from The Moon. Don't let The Queen's Beast get too out of hand." 

"Uh, yeah, sure I guess, honey," Taako replied. "If it makes you feel better, you can just assume I did am doing that!" Taako grinned and gave the dwarf a thumb's up. 

Gregory laughed and made his way to the door with a wave, heading down the stairs. 

Taako collapsed into the chair, giving a loud, dramatic sigh. "Who knew your life was so complicated, bones? I didn't even know you had a life, you big nerd!" Kravitz demurred vaguely, glancing over the list again. There was a lot to do. Taako stood up and pulled a book off the shelves. "Speaking of being a big nerd, scoot your quills over, I need to do some schoolin'." Kravitz moved his things over.

Death wondered if his lover would ever ask how he'd earned those names.

Kravitz spent a quiet evening with his hand over top of Taako's on the table, both occupied with their own interests and grounded by each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop whoop. This chapter was hard for various reasons. I actually wrote closer to 7K words, but decided that those memories weren't appropriate for the current timeframe of the story and saved them for later. 
> 
> To impress the one person who likes twitching elf ears.


	19. The World Suffered for Her

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A song as old as death.

A muffled scream in the other room was enough for Alli to redouble his efforts to escape. He finally managed to slip the ropes from his wrist and darted to the door, forcing it open. A stunned guard was staring down in horror at the body he'd run through with a sword. 

The king lay, staring up sightless to the ceiling. The guard backed away, covering his face in horror. The little girl started trying to free her hands from the chair she was tied to. She was shuddering and had been crying. She turned her glare on the guard. "Kill yourself," she snarled. Alli went over, untying the ropes around her wrist. There was no time to think about this; no time to think of the man dead on the floor.

The guard started sobbing as he reached to pull the sword free. "No, please! I can't leave my mum alone, please," he begged even as he turned the sword towards his own stomach.

Alli squeezed his eyes shut then turned his attention on the guard, singing the first thing that came to his mind. The guard stopped, staring vacantly at Alli, dropping the sword. He kept singing even as he turned his attention back to the ropes. "Baby, he doesn't need to die," he whispered. "He's scared, he just wants to go home." The guard blinked, stumbling as he came out of the trance. 

His daughter glared up at him and swallowed thickly. She had clearly been in shock and he hugged her tight when he'd freed her from the chair. Alli thought he saw the king's body twitch from the corner of his eyes. "He tried to rip out my tongue, he called me a monster, papa," she whispered back, fear clawing across her face. Alli had the briefly unkind thought that she had feared more for the loss of her powers than the loss of her tongue, but he banished it to the back of his mind. She was his daughter. He was shoved to the side by something powerful. He automatically curled over the little girl in his arms, seeing stars as his head slammed into the wall. The revenant loomed over them, eyes burning as he fixed his gaze on his daughter, the hole in his chest still bleeding. His daughter reacted faster than he could in the shock of fear. "Papa, run!" Alli stumbled to his feet and darted out the door, holding her close to his chest. 

"I will find you," the revenant screamed after them.

Kravitz woke up with a start, feeling his heart still beating fast from the fear the memory had put in him.

Taako was still asleep beside him, the morning just barely peeking from behind the curtains. Kravitz caressed the elf's cheek, then eased out of the bed. Today would be a good day to petition the city, so he grabbed his suit and made his way to the bathroom. 

He caught himself in the polished silver mirror Taako had hanging there. His reflection was merely staring back impassively. Kravitz folded his arms across his chest, now glad he'd dressed quickly. 

The Raven Queen stepped closer to Kravitz in the mirror. She looked almost sad, if he was any judge of his own emotions. Her whispers flooded the small room, " _These memories will kill you, but nothing will end you or your king. Don't fear friends._ " 

With that, Kravitz was once again look at what was truly his own reflection. He put a hand over his sputtering heart. It felt like she'd wanted to comfort him, to remind him that he was not an easy creature to kill. 

He would find a way to go on. 

Perhaps there was another way to read it. He paused, touching the mirror. It could have been a warning. Kravitz looked at his face closely for the first time in a long time. It was so different to the Alli in the memories. Revenants died within a year, so that memory was not long before his daughter had been pushed off the tower. Kravitz was older, but he wasn't human. No, _hadn't_ been human. He had lived for decades more.

Yes, he could remember it now. At least, he could remember some of it. It was like recalling a conversation from long ago, something that had always been there, but unimportant until he came back to it. His desperation at first to get the door open, but nothing came of it but meals through the slot. Then, those had stopped, too. No more guards to talk to, but the ravens had come to watch him. Kravitz knew they had been looking for an opportunity to collect a man who should have long-since died. His prison had been secure, neither he nor the ravens had a solution. 

He had starved, but he had not died. Kravitz touched the wrinkles by his eyes. The only thing he could find the energy for was singing. It didn't depend on him being able to move without crying in pain. He pulled on the abundant magic of the tower and he used it to draw the ravens closer, to break some of his loneliness. They loved his songs in ways people weren't able to. When the Raven Queen had come, Kravitz was long-since as old as he would ever be. It was something in that tower and his fury and something _else_ that had broken him.

Kravitz turned away from the mirror. He went to the table, putting bookmarks in the places where Taako had left them open, then set each one back in its place on Taako's various shelves. He wasn't sure what to do with the half-written spell scrolls Taako was working on, so he left them in place. The scrolls were an interesting development. Taako had little use for them most days, so it seemed odd he'd use his time creating them. Looking again at the books he'd put away, it appeared that the elf was learning how to do it. 

Turning his attention back to the room, his own quills and notes were a mess. He'd used his time to estimate the costs of the temple's endeavor and had finally arrived at a sum that would make the city gawk. At the moment, he had little sympathy for the mayor. With the temple being so large, he'd also decided to take on the duties of head priest until he'd had time to train Angus. While Kravitz appreciated both the Orthodox and Reformed churches views on things, he wanted to hand down a legacy of not taking sides. It would also prevent any extreme splinters from moving in. No need for the more devout Reformed priests to start humiliating people for enjoying in life while they could or the Orthodox priests to start executing people who so much had a whiff of the undead on them. Likely, whatever happened at this temple would ripple within the church for centuries and he wanted to make sure it was done right. 

He knew there was also a more selfish reason. A head priest made a deal with the Raven Queen not to die until they'd secured the next head who could follow in their legacy. Some outright chose to become Sorrowborn. Kravitz set the quills in the hole on top of the skull she'd given him, already holding other odds and ends Taako had deemed it useful for. It seemed she had known he'd come to that conclusion. 

Kravitz continued cleaning the rest of the apartment. It helped him muddle through his memories and start to sort them out.

No, today was not a good day to petition the city for funds. He would ask Taako which of his friends he wanted to visit today. Kravitz secretly hoped it was Avi and Johann, he liked both gambling and music.

Kravitz set about making tea. It was the one culinary skill he had in his retinue. 

Taako emerged from the bedroom, dressed in skirts and bangles, his hair in a high ponytail. Kravitz handed him a tea and he gave the reaper a peck on the cheek. "G'morning, babe. Weird your lazy bones are up before me," he still had an edge of sleep in his voice. He ran a hand down Kravitz's chest, looking over the outfit. "Didn't get to unwrap you yesterday, so maybe tonight?" His eyes flicked up to Kravitz's, smirking.

Kravitz took a sip of the searing tea, his cheeks burning up. "Sounds like a plan," he murmured, returning to the table, trying not to show how much he looked forward to the night. He didn't want to seem too eager. Taako laughed delightedly and followed him, cooling his drink down with a cantrip. "You're making spell scrolls?" Kravitz gestured to the scrolls he'd left on the table.

A look of surprise spread over Taako's face. He set down his tea and started to gather up the scrolls. "Oh, this? This is nothing! Don't worry about it!" He shoved them into a cabinet. Kravitz's brow creased. "Just, you know, me up to my old money-making schemes, partner," he flashed a grin and pointed hand guns at Kravitz, mock firing sparkles from the tip of his index finger. 

The reaper paused, suddenly concerned that his stay here was costing Taako money. "Do you need money, love?" 

There was a pause, then brief regret, then Taako was back to looking disaffected. "No, no, I'm loaded, really. The bakery is doing _very_ well, lemme tell ya, laddy. You see how busy it is all the time," Taako laughed nervously. Kravitz nodded, he knew the bakery was actually having a problem keeping _up_ with demand. "I, ah, was thinking of expanding. We sort of need more space in the bakery. So I was thinking of dedicating this building as the storefront and having a separate building for the kitchens. There'll be some magic involved with the transportation, I think I can permanently keep a portal open, yanno," he paused, slowing down. "Then, I was thinking that, well, shark teeth." He folded his hands on the table. " _We_ could look for a house closer to Angus. It sorta, yanno, crossed my mind, homie, just came to me like _bam_! That, well, babe, your office might not _have_ to be in the astral plane." Taako wasn't looking at Kravitz, very focused on his tea. 

Kravitz blinked, surprise crossing his features. He hadn't considered that before. The tea reading from before he came to stay with Taako came back to him. He already knew what the answer would be, so he set his hand over Taako's and smiled. "I think the Raven Queen gave me her blessing to do just that before I even came here." Taako's smile made his whole face glow and he pounced on Kravitz, smiling. Kravitz had a feeling this had been something Taako had been sitting on for a long time. He hugged him back. 

Taako slipped back into his own chair, buzzing with excitement. "Okay. Great. Good. Yeah, totally awesome." He was trying to settle back into cool and disaffected. He tossed his hair back, smiling. "So, what's the plans for today, handsome?"

The reaper laughed and finished off his tea. "You mentioned wanting to visit friends yesterday. Why don't we go today? If I recall from your calendar, you have no appointments to be late for," Kravitz teased.

"Hey, look, homie, I was freshly fucked by my flaming skeleton boyfriend," Taako protested. "Ren's probably busy today, but Avi and Johann are probably up for whatever crazy shit we want to try for a double date."

It hadn't previously occurred to Kravitz that those two were an item. "Oh, I guess that's why they live together," he hummed. It made more than a few things make more sense. 

Taako gave him a flabbergasted look. "You didn't realize? Homie, they eloped _five_ years ago," he laughed. "Talk about dense, babe." 

"In my defense, Johann has been away performing or Avi's been off at his brewery," Kravitz put up a placating hand. "I've never seen them interact with each other."

"Okay okay, bone brain," Taako relented, rolling his eyes. "What'd you think all the flowers were for?"

Taako made breakfast and they left. It was a dreary day, but Taako had insisted on casting a shield over them instead of using umbrellas. They had taken their time, watching lightning arc across the cityscape, but they eventually found their way to the little house that belonged to Johann and Avi. Taako stepped up the door and knocked.

Avi answered after a moment of waiting, looking both surprised and pleased. "Taako! And secret boyfriend. I'm glad to see you guys, come on in," he laughed. Kravitz waved politely, still not sure why Taako's friends considered him that. They had never been discrete and were far from secret. He stepped aside to let them in.

"Hey, Avocado. You and Johann wanna have a hang sess with me and death?" He stepped into the house, letting the shield drop, Kravitz following closely and awkwardly behind. 

Johann came to the doorway to the living room, violin in hand. "I wouldn't mind it. Of course, it's raining, though." He sighed deeply. "Just let me finish this composition first, okay?" Kravitz looked over at Johann curiously, wanting to ask what he was composing.

Avi smiled and kissed Johann on the cheek quickly. "It's their fault they visited on such a terrible day, bro," he soothed. "No sweat! We'll visit them on a nice day." Johann seemed to perk up at that. Taako nudged Kravitz. Kravitz smiled and rolled his eyes at Taako. 

"I'm certainly interested in your music, Johann. I was a bard, when I was," Kravitz paused, " _more_ alive. It's been a long time, though." 

Taako butted in, "His voice is really sexy, Johann. He's got some real pipes on him. But not during sex, kinda disappointing in the vocal department of sex." Kravitz's whole face was on fire. Avi shrugged. Johann nodded, considering it, but didn't seem an ounce bothered by Taako's revelation of their personal life. 

Avi headed back into the living room, sitting on the couch. He appeared to have been looking at ledgers while Johann composed. The musician settled back in front of his ledger. "You ever heard of the great musicians?"

Kravitz sat down on the couch, too, Taako settling onto his lap. "No, I can't recall." 

Johann drew the bow across the strings, eliciting a sweet sound. "They're sort of the bunch that established the basic foundations of music. Most of them have been sorta lost to time, but people are always interested when we figure out more about them. The guild put me in charge of trying to fill in the gaps of some scraps we have from one of them. Some bars are missing, and we can't find the ending, but anything is preferable. He's the one who started going around writing down folk songs, but he was a great composer himself," he rattled off. "I can't quite seem to keep it together. The melody just doesn't seem _right_." He started to play. It was a sad, weeping affair. Based on what he knew about Johann, this seemed fitting for the guild to have given to the violinist. Avi sat back to Kravitz's side and Taako relaxed against him. It began to turn more romantic, it was becoming a clear song of love.

Kravitz went rigid in alarm. He knew this tune like the beat of his own, dead heart. He could hear every spot Johann got wrong. They weren't bad guesses, but they were guesses. Johann sighed and stopped playing as the tempo began to speed up. "Aren't you going to finish it?" Kravitz hadn't meant to ask, but he did.

Johann shook his head sadly, "That's either all we have or all Alli wrote of ' _For My King_ '." 

Several things clicked for Kravitz at once. 

Death wanted to stay still and quiet while his lover turned, concern evident. 

Kravitz covered his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh, so expect more today. The fic may actually be finished by end of day, haha. 
> 
> An impressive cliff hanger for a certain someone.


	20. But Freedom Broke Her Flight Across the Rocks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is always a way.

Johann floundered, trying to figure out what he did wrong. "I'm really sorry, that's all I know, man!"

"No, Johann, it's not you," Taako worried his bottom lip and put his hands over Kravitz's face. "Babe, are you okay?" 

Kravitz was so far from okay that he wasn't actually sure how to answer that. He laughed softly, at the absurdity of it, but it broke off into a sob. Taako murmured something, then smoothed a hand through Kravitz's hair.

"He really does like music," Avi whispered. Kravitz heard some shuffling and lowering his hands, he realized they'd bolted from the room. 

He grabbed Taako's hands suddenly, just wanting to tell someone, anyone. "I think I know what happened to my daughter, love," he mumbled. 

Taako squeezed his hands. "You still owe me a question," he whispered. Kravitz laughed brokenly and Taako looked pained to hear it. "What happened?" 

Kravitz took a deep breath. "There was--" he swallowed, he needed to admit this to himself, "There was something _wrong_ with her. I don't know what. She used her powers cruelly. I think I tried a lot to teach her that she couldn't-- she couldn't just _hurt_ people. Even after-- Even after her mother died and I almost died. I think she was angry then, because I was going to go perform and she had to stay. She'd hurt someone and we decided she shouldn't be around other people. No, no, she hurt another child. Her powers used to only work on animals and children smaller than her. Then she told me to _die_ if I wouldn't stay." Taako's hands trembled in his own. 

"I loved her, I'll always love her." He lowered his head to Taako's shoulder. "I'm an awful parent, Taako. I'm awful. I think--- I think maybe the world is better without her," he whispered. It broke his heart to say. It broke everything to say. "All I could see was what had happened. I never stopped to see what could happen. She would have killed me, with more time. She would have killed _so_ many people."

Kravitz swallowed thickly.

Taako sat in silence for a few moments then hugged Kravitz tightly. "Babe," he whispered. 

Kravitz was glad to have it out; he hugged Taako back. 

They stayed like that for a while. Johann and Avi would peek in nervously, but seemed to be giving them space for now. Kravitz was grateful Taako had friends who simply accepted when things like this happened.

Eventually, Avi brought them wine and Kravitz drained it thankfully, but Taako nursed his. When it seemed safe Johann and Avi returned to their living room. 

"I get the feeling you know the, uhm, song," Johann said slowly. He hesitated, as if waiting to bolt again if Kravitz started crying. 

Kravitz smiled sadly. "I do. I wrote it, I think." 

Taako slapped the back of the couch. "Wait, _you_ , shark teeth? I knew I hit pay dirt after the sex, but hell yeah!" He gave a thumb's up to a shocked Johann and a vaguely confused Avi. "Dating a celebrity!"

Johann more or less threw his violin at Kravitz. "Do it."

Kravitz hesitated as he vaguely recalled the song. "It's not very good. They must have found one of my personal music journals. It was a song no one was supposed to actually hear. Self-indulgent," he laughed self-consciously, but he took up the violin. At first, he couldn't remember how to hold it, then he found the position. 

The song was no masterpiece, but it seemed to impress Johann enough, who was taking notes. Avi and Taako just seemed to enjoy it. They enjoyed it more as the tempo picked up, past the place where Johann had stopped. The thrilling highs and lows, but it ended only as Alli had been able to guess it would, sudden and sad. Kravitz thought he felt no joy in having predicted at least that much. He put the violin down when he was finished. 

Johann clapped enthusiastically and Kravitz could see hero worship written all over his face. "How many other songs do you know? I mean, you started writing down folk songs, but we don't have most of the original compositions anymore."

Kravitz tried not to let his expression fade. He couldn't remember the last time he'd thought of music as more than a piece to unraveling his life. "I think I know hundreds. I think my dad was mute, but his dad had done music like me. So he's the one who started writing down songs, to teach me. I never stopped and I tried to refine them down to what I _thought_ they may have been. Their best form," Kravitz laughed, feeling awkward suddenly. He could see the excitement swelling on Johann's face. It was overwhelming, to say the least.

Taako clapped his hands. "You nerds can talk music some other times. I think we promised a hang sess. Don't know about bro-swag," he gestured to Avi, "but I'd like to get really drunk and maybe go somewhere to eat. In that order, if ya feel." Kravitz was glad for the rescue.

Johann looked disappointed. Avi smiled at Taako and Kravitz. "Yeah, you're not going to get through hundreds of songs tonight. Why don't we hit up a tavern?" 

Eventually, they left the house and spent the night drinking. Kravitz was a little distant, but he was trying to be polite enough. Taako called it a night earlier than he would have and they made their way home. The rain had picked up again and did its best to get past the shield Taako erected. 

Kravitz reached down to hold his hand. "Sorry for being so quiet, love," he murmured. 

Taako shook his head. "How would we have gotten this far without me knowing you're quiet, babe?" He squeezed Kravitz's hand comfortingly. "Krav, I--," he paused, "I don't think you're an awful parent. At all. Didn't wanna go back home and you think I thought that." 

The reaper stayed quiet for a few moments. Finally, he whispered, "Thank you." He hesitated. "I didn't realize until yesterday how much I missed Magnus. I know I wasn't as close, but it was like I could feel every part of this plane he was missing from." 

Taako looked down at their hands, then up at Kravitz. "Do you think he found Julia?" 

It was something he had kept to himself, unsure of if he should say it. "I know he did. She waited, all these years, in the astral plane. She waited so they could leave together. After he died, I checked. I didn't know if it would make it better or worse to know he really was never coming back. Whatever great adventure is on the other side, they found it together." 

He heard Taako sniff at his side. "It makes it better. He always deserved so much better," Taako whispered, swallowing thickly. "I wish he didn't have to die. To be at peace and have happiness. That sucks, homie."

"I think he found it when he was alive, Taako," Kravitz murmured. "Souls don't move on that quickly unless they're ready. Which means they were happy." 

Kravitz stopped as Taako buried his face in the reaper's chest, hugging him tightly as he cried. "I miss him so much," Taako sobbed. "I keep forgetting he's gone, like I can just call him and he'll answer." Kravitz pet his hair as the shield flickered and died. Taako swore, but didn't make the effort to put it back up.

Death stood in the rain and thought of all his missing pieces. There was so much left to lose.

Kravitz scooped up his lover. Together, they found a way home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter shortly.
> 
> Infuriating that certain someone by posting even more right when they catch up.


	21. And Death Wept for What He Thought Life Was

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are broken, things are built.

Alli finished his third mug of ale, hidden in his corner of the ramshackle tavern. As far away from nobles as he'd been able to stomach the smells of. A human man wearing a cloak slid into the seat next to Alli with two mugs of ale. He offered one to Alli. Alli's eyes quickly assessed the man. He was faintly handsome, but seemed vaguely familiar. A name was on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed it back with a grin. 

"This can go two ways," Alli held up two fingers. "You spend the next few hours sweeping me off me feet and maybe you'll carry me to your room. Or you slip me ten gold and we go now. All the same to me." The man at least laughed, fishing out his coin purse and sliding ten gold to Alli. Alli scooped it up and trailed after the man to one of the rooms. He slowed down when he realized there was no one else back here except two glaring royal guards. 

Alli started to back up, but the man turned and grabbed his hand. He was a _lot_ stronger than he looked. The human drew him to his chest and dropped the glamour.

There was knowing you were in trouble and then there was knowing you were about to be obliterated. Alli, now in the latter situation, could only open and close his mouth in wordless terror as the king dragged him into an empty room. 

King Diero let him go when the door was closed and sat on the bed. Alli collapsed to his knees in a deep bow. "I would have appreciated the respect _before_ you fucked my wife," King Diero sighed. Alli realized he was about to be killed. "Get up," the king commanded.

Alli took a deep breath and climbed to his feet. He certainly wasn't going to apologize. "M'lord, I was just doing the duty you'd neglected," Alli looked the king straight in the face. If he was going to die, he'd fight first. "There's not many people she can talk to. She's far too lovely to languish."

The king looked Alli up and down. Alli felt like he must have been imagining where those eyes lingered. "I wouldn't complain if you hadn't snuck around like I was stupid. I've been trying to figure out how you get over the damn wall for a month now. I mean, really, you knew I hadn't touched her and expected me not to be concerned when she was pregnant?" He shook his head, laughing. 

Alli was trying to figure out if the man was just toying with him. "As if you haven't had a bit of an accident from a tryst. How many maids have your bastards running around?" He wasn't so much offended that King Diero left Vinn alone, but that she knew he was spending his time elsewhere. She'd thought she had somehow driven him off. 

King Diero unclasped his cloak and leaned back on the bed, more casually. "I don't know about you, but I've never fucked a butler or gardener pregnant." Whatever Alli had planned to say evaporated instantly.

That explained more than a few things. Primarily, why Alli wasn't dead. 

"Now then, stop climbing over my damn wall. I don't know how you're getting in, and I don't care," Alli could tell King Diero cared very much, "but just come through the door. You'll begin as the music teacher effective immediately. I find this very rude customer service, but I must know. Are you going to give me what I paid for or am I going to have to rely on my hand thinking about your handsome face _again?_ " Alli opened his mouth, then closed it. That had been a lot of matter-of-fact information all at once. Music teacher probably paid more. Also, he didn't have a choice. King Diero really had paid him for sex, not _just_ to lure him somewhere to be alone. Also, Alli was apparently someone this gorgeous, powerful man touched himself thinking about.

That thought went to all the right places at once. 

A younger version of Alli was weeping as he held up a hand. "I can't. Vinn needs to say it's okay." He let out a breath. 

King Diero tilted his head, then smiled at Alli like he'd passed some test. 

Kravitz opened his eyes. It was different, yes, necessarily so, but he saw it nonetheless. 

The sun finally laid across Taako as he slept and he scrunched his face, starting to wake. His eyes fluttered opened and he hummed as he stretched. He scooted across the gap between them. "Good morning, handsome." 

Death touched the face of the man who had killed his daughter. 

Kravitz squeezed his eyes shut. "I love you," he whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The continuation of this will be soon! 
> 
> I really hope you have all enjoyed the ride.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to follow my [Tumblr](https://evitcani-writes.tumblr.com/).


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